Rob Klimek – Research Hero
Rob Klimek, Senior Project Manager, Magenta Research
Rob Klimek has a strong background in research operations across public, charity, and commercial sectors. Holding an MSc in psychology (distinction), he previously led research and development work in the NHS and higher education. Rob also managed nationally recognised clinical academic programmes, known for innovation and patient impact. Since joining Magenta in 2022, he has overseen end-to-end project delivery, client communications, supplier coordination and GDPR compliance. In 2024, Rob was named to the Significant Insights 30 Under 30 list, recognising rising talent making meaningful contributions to the research and insights profession.
Rob was nominated because "his problem-solving skills are legendary – whether facilitating changes, managing late requests, or dealing with technical issues, ‘Rob will fix it’ has become our team’s mantra. Clients consider Rob indispensable, many of them coining the phrase ‘Everyone needs a Rob’; there could be no stronger testament to his impact".
1. What is the biggest challenge you have faced during your career?
The biggest challenge was definitely moving from the world of NHS and academia into commercial research. In the public sector, everything moves slowly — you spend months (sometimes years) planning, bidding, waiting for funding and then even longer to see outcomes. Switching to market research felt like stepping onto a moving train — you get a client brief one day and you’re launching the project the next. It was a big adjustment, but being naturally organised and quite competitive, I actually found a lot of joy in the faster pace. I honestly couldn’t imagine going back now.
2. What will be the next big trend or development in the research industry, and why?
I think the biggest shift will be in how we work with AI, not fear it. This is already happening — we’re seeing tools like ChatGPT and Claude help with transcripts, note-taking and analysis, but I can imagine this going much further. I think we’ll see companies using AI to match participants to screeners, build research communities with just a few prompts and automate a lot of the operations side. It’ll massively speed up delivery and insight generation. But AI still needs human interpretation, creativity, cultural context and proper oversight — so the real game-changer will be us, researchers getting smarter at using AI to our advantage.
3. Who inspires you as a researcher?
Sarah Jenkins, Magenta’s owner, is a huge inspiration to me. She set up the agency in 2016 because she was tired of the red tape and hierarchy in big companies, and that boldness really shows in everything we do — from the kinds of clients we work with to how diverse and agile our team is. I admire how she balances leading the business with still rolling up her sleeves and getting involved in the actual research — whether it’s fieldwork, analysis or reporting. She’s fierce, experienced, and always pushing us to think differently and aim higher.
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