Greenbook Future List Spotlight: Sequoyah Glenn

Editor’s Note: The following interview features a 2024 Greenbook Future List honoree, Sequoyah Glenn. The Greenbook Future List recognizes leadership, professional growth, personal integrity, passion, and excellence in the next generation of consumer insights and marketing professionals within the first 10 years of their careers.

Sequoyah Glenn, Founder of 924 CoOperative, merges marketing expertise with market research, emphasizing its importance. Through various platforms, she addresses industry issues, sharing actionable plans via speaking engagements, articles, events, and advisory services. In 2022, CultureMRx was launched to empower Black insights professionals, promoting collaboration and skill development. Distributing 'City CultureGuides' at conferences, it expands networks and inclusivity through global partnerships.

Sequoyah, a standout in the market research sector, is renowned for championing diversity. Active in industry conferences and podcasts like Insights Association, IIEX, and MRMW, she works to create a more inclusive community. Her influence extends to both market research and the Greenbook realm, where she is a respected voice advocating for inclusivity and amplifying marginalized perspectives. Leading CultureMRx, she has actively promoted racial diversity in industry gatherings, setting a positive precedent for future networking. Sequoyah Glenn disrupts and innovates insights, challenging conventional practices with her bold approach at CultureMRx. Her fearless style underscores her dedication to fostering new connections and ideas, solidifying her as a significant player in the insights domain.

What's a fun fact about yourself that would surprise people to know?

A fun fact that people may be surprised to know about me is that I went to a Fine Arts Magnet school. So think Sussical but add in a rigorous academic curriculum. As a public speaker, I often get feedback that people enjoy me on stage and they’ll ask how did I get so confident in speaking. I often attribute it to being on stage at such an early age. When I was younger, I used to envy folks who had sports in middle and high school, but now I understand why my journey led me to Davidson Fine Arts in Augusta, Ga. I know how to work hard, be innovative, flexible and ready to pivot, and how to get along with others. For 7 years I had an opportunity to try out tap and modern dance, audio visual, costume design, ceramics, and finding my love of classical vocal and piano performance.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from market research?

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned from market research is to never assume, which beautifully translates to how I try to live my life. When we research, we have hypothesis to explore - I believe this is how life is. You may go into a project thinking you know exactly what will come out and then when you review your findings, you’re in utter shock or wow. Research taught me to seek understanding, not to prove or disprove myself, but to explore myself as a human. Additionally, in not assuming things, you’re able to understand the findings for what they are and not for what you’d want them to be. You can learn a lot this way, especially if you’re researching for groups of people unlike you. It’s always great to learn in your work just for the sake of it!

Tell us about any advocacy/volunteer/association work you're doing within the industry. What issues are you trying to solve? Why is this work critical for the industry?

In 2021, a few research colleagues and I founded a group called CultureMRx, which strives to connect Black insights professionals through networking, upskilling, and fellowship. Over the past few years, we’ve been able to meet around the world at conferences, gain knowledge of emerging trends and professional development, and celebrate each others accomplishments through virtual and in person activities. CultureMRx was bred out of the desire to increase Black representation in the industry. According to McKinsey, less than 6% of market researchers in the United States are Black - which is grossly inequitable in relation to the US Census Bureau’s population counts. We strive to be a bridge between allies and Black researchers, to not simply state that we should have a seat at the table, but to also provide opportunities to do so. With more representation in our industry, research will be more culturally accurate, peeling back layers of cultural nuance often only known by those in our culture.

If you could change one thing about insights, what would it be?

If I could change one thing about insight’s it would be to have more subject matter experts come over to the research side. I think we would get richer data and consumer insights by having folks, for example, that worked in the airline industry for years, come over to their corporate insights teams. Having a career at media companies and ad agencies helped me understand the implications of market research and how marketers use data to make a decision. As I got deeper into market research, I am often able to thinking in a trifecta of knowing what research we need to go to market, for example, then how we should market it online, then how we measure what we marketed. I like to call it close looped thinking, and I’d love to see more of that.