InnovateMR acquires expert network Ivy Exec

InnovateMR, a global sampling and market research technology firm, has acquired Ivy Exec, a qualitative expert network of B2B professionals. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal pairs InnovateMR's quantitative survey infrastructure with Ivy Exec's curated network of senior professionals, who participate in paid research alongside the platform's career-services offering. InnovateMR framed the rationale as expanding its B2B respondent reach and tightening data quality controls.

What was announced

Ivy Exec runs a dual-purpose platform. On one side, it provides career-development services to senior professionals. On the other, it routes those same professionals into paid research engagements with corporate clients and consultancies. That sourcing model, professionals who opt in via a career-services relationship rather than being cold-recruited, is what InnovateMR is paying for.

In a statement, InnovateMR CEO Lisa Wilding-Brown said the deal "dramatically expands our B2B research capabilities" and pointed to access to "270+ of the world's top research professionals" as part of the combined offering, according to the announcement.

Ivy Exec clients will gain access to InnovateMR's quantitative survey technology. InnovateMR clients will gain access to Ivy Exec's expert pool for qualitative work.

Where this sits in the market

Market research sampling and expert networks have historically been distinct categories. Sampling firms (InnovateMR, Dynata, Cint) recruit large panels for quantitative surveys, often n=200 to n=2,000, with a focus on representativeness, screener accuracy, and fraud prevention. Expert networks (GLG, Guidepoint, Third Bridge, AlphaSense/Tegus) recruit smaller pools of senior practitioners for one-on-one consultations, with a focus on seniority, recency of experience, and compliance.

The two categories share a respondent-quality problem and not much else. Sampling firms worry about bots, professional survey-takers, and inattentive responders. Expert networks worry about MNPI, conflicts of interest, and whether the expert was actually in the room when the decision they're describing was made.

Ivy Exec is a hybrid. Its career-services hook gives it a recruitment funnel that looks more like LinkedIn than like a traditional research panel, and its B2B focus means the respondents are senior enough to be useful for qualitative work. That's what InnovateMR is buying: a sourcing model that produces verified, senior B2B respondents at scale.

What it means for buyers

For corporate strategy and insights teams, the pitch is one vendor for both n=500 quant studies and n=12 in-depth interviews with sector specialists. For market research agencies that currently stitch together a sampling vendor and an expert network for B2B projects, the combined offering reduces procurement friction.

For the expert network incumbents, the read is more interesting. Ivy Exec was never a direct competitor to GLG or Guidepoint at the hedge-fund-grade end of the market, where compliance scaffolding and named-expert recency dominate vendor selection. It competed for the corporate strategy and consulting buyers who use expert calls for primary research but don't have the compliance infrastructure (or budget) of a sell-side analyst or a long-short fund.

That segment is where the convergence pressure is highest. Buyers there want fewer vendors, more flexibility on engagement format (survey, panel, 1-on-1), and respondents who have been verified once rather than re-screened on every project.

The combined company has not disclosed integration timelines, headcount changes, or pricing changes for existing clients. Watch the next earnings cycle from publicly traded sampling peers for any commentary on B2B panel pricing, which is the cleanest read on whether this deal puts pressure on the category.