Federico Adrogué: A 2026 Future List Honoree on AI, Blockchain, and MRX

Federico Adrogué is the Co-Founder & CEO of Bondum and a 2026 Greenbook Future List Honoree, recognized for his forward-looking approach to building modern research capabilities. He focuses on combining methodological rigor with emerging technology, with particular interest in how AI can accelerate insight generation and how blockchain may reshape trust, data ownership, and governance.

Federico is also passionate about developing people, often leading training and onboarding to ensure teams and clients understand not just the “how,” but the “why” behind research. Outside of work, he finds balance in endurance and mountain sports, from backcountry skiing to training for triathlons, using the outdoors as a reset that fuels clarity, focus, and long-term perspective.

Outside of insights, what are your passions and interests?

Outside of insights, I spend a lot of my time in the mountains and outdoors. I’ve always been drawn to endurance and mountain sports, especially those that combine physical effort with nature. Over the years, I’ve practiced backcountry skiing, crossed the Andes mountain range running, and more recently I’ve been training for triathlons.

For me, these activities aren’t about extremes, but about finding balance and perspective. They require discipline, preparation, and respect for the environment, while also offering moments of clarity that are hard to find elsewhere. Spending time outdoors helps me disconnect, reset, and come back to work with more focus and energy.

Making time for these passions alongside work is important to me. They remind me that enjoying the process, staying curious, and maintaining balance are just as valuable as achieving professional goals.

Who is your career role model or source of inspiration?

My greatest source of professional inspiration is Gerardo, who is not only my father but also one of my partners at KNACK. He opened the door for me when I was just 18 years old and trusted me with the responsibility of leading the company’s technological transformation at a time when that kind of change wasn’t obvious or easy.

Nine years later, it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made together. We’ve built a strong way of working over time, where experience and long-term perspective come together with a forward-looking, technology-driven approach. Gerardo brings decades of industry knowledge, while I contribute a focus on innovation and new ways of building research capabilities.

Working alongside him has taught me that leadership is built through trust, consistency, and learning from each other. His example continues to shape how I think about building teams, making decisions, and growing sustainably in the insights industry.

What advice do you have for folks hoping to start a career in insights?

One of the biggest advantages of a career in insights is how accessible innovation really is. For people who are curious and eager to try new things, this field allows you to move fast in very practical ways. You can iterate, test ideas, learn from results, make mistakes, and try again within relatively short cycles.

Unlike more rigid or exact disciplines, market research offers room to experiment. There is space to explore new methodologies, tools, and ways of working, while still staying grounded in real business questions. This creates an environment where learning happens through doing, not just theory.

My advice to anyone starting out is to take advantage of that flexibility. Don’t wait for perfect conditions or complete certainty. The people who tend to stand out in this industry are those who are willing to iterate continuously, challenge existing approaches, and turn experimentation into better products and solutions.

What are three skills you believe to be crucial to succeed in market research and why?

I believe three skills are especially crucial to succeed in market research: adaptability, multidisciplinary thinking, and curiosity.

Adaptability is essential because the scope of insights work can change dramatically from one project to the next. One day you might be testing the optimal formulation for a food product, and the next you could be evaluating the effectiveness of a healthcare treatment. Being able to quickly understand new categories, contexts, and business questions is a core part of the role.

Multidisciplinary thinking is what allows strong insights to emerge. The professionals who tend to stand out are those who can combine solid statistical knowledge with qualitative thinking and a deep understanding of consumer behavior. Bringing these perspectives together leads to more meaningful and actionable outcomes.

Finally, curiosity drives continuous improvement. It pushes you to explore new tools, build new solutions, stay aware of what others are doing, and constantly ask how emerging approaches can be applied to real research challenges.

How do you advocate for others on your team or your customers?

One of the ways I advocate for others on my team and for our customers is by staying closely involved in training and onboarding. I enjoy personally leading training sessions for new team members, especially at the beginning, because it allows me to explain our research processes from the ground up and ensure everyone understands not just the “how,” but the “why” behind what we do.

This approach benefits both sides. For the team, it creates clarity, confidence, and a shared foundation. For our customers, it results in more consistent and thoughtful work, because the people supporting their projects truly understand the methodology and objectives.

On a personal level, teaching is also a way to hold myself accountable. Explaining concepts clearly forces me to revisit assumptions and identify areas where my own understanding can improve.

What trends do you see making headway on the horizon of insights? What trends do you think will falter in years to come?

Two trends I see gaining strong momentum in the insights industry are artificial intelligence and blockchain, though for very different reasons.

AI is rapidly becoming a powerful tool to help researchers understand consumers from multiple angles while significantly accelerating processes such as analysis, synthesis, and reporting. Used well, it allows teams to move faster and explore insights that would otherwise take much longer to uncover. That said, AI still requires guidance. The role of the researcher remains critical to frame the right questions, interpret results, and ensure outputs are relevant, ethical, and grounded in real human understanding.

Blockchain, on the other hand, addresses a more foundational challenge in our industry: data itself. Insights are built on how data is collected, stored, and trusted. Blockchain has the potential to redefine this by creating more transparent, secure systems for data ownership and storage, and by assigning tangible value to consumer data. As trust and data governance become increasingly important, this infrastructure will play a growing role.

What challenges do you see facing newer MRX professionals as technology advances?

One of the main challenges newer MRX professionals will face as technology advances is continuing to understand how research processes and analysis actually work behind the scenes. Today, many tools automate tasks that previously required manual effort, from data cleaning to advanced analytics, which is incredibly powerful but can also create distance from the fundamentals.

While automation increases speed and efficiency, it doesn’t replace the need to understand why a specific methodology or analysis is being used. Without that foundation, it becomes difficult to evaluate results critically or to choose the right approach based on the research objective.

Developing this understanding is essential to making good decisions, not just operating tools. The professionals who will stand out are those who use technology as an enabler while still deeply understanding research design, methodology, and interpretation.