our firm
Market Insights was founded in 1993 with a straightforward premise: community banks and credit unions deserved the same quality of strategic thinking and market intelligence that larger institutions took for granted — without the overhead, the conflicts of interest, or the one-size-fits-all methodology that came with large firm engagements.
More than three decades later, that premise still drives everything we do. We have never served a client outside of community banking and credit unions. That's not a limitation — it's a choice. It means every framework we bring to an engagement, every trend we track, every presentation we give is filtered through a single lens: what does this mean for community-based institutions competing in an industry being fundamentally reinvented?
Market Insights is built around direct access to senior expertise. One of our leaders will oversee every client engagement — guiding the analysis, shaping the recommendations, and ensuring the work reflects the depth of experience that has defined this firm for more than 30 years.
our leaders
Joe Sullivan — President & CEO
Joe Sullivan founded Market Insights in 1993 after recognizing a gap in the market: community banks and credit unions were underserved by consulting firms that treated them as a niche rather than a specialty. For more than 30 years he has worked alongside bank and credit union leaders navigating growth, change, and moments of genuine strategic uncertainty — from expansion decisions and branch network transformations to leadership transitions and long-range planning.
Joe is known for his energy, his directness, and his ability to make complex strategic questions feel manageable. Whether he's facilitating a board planning session, teaching a graduate level class or delivering a keynote to 2,000 bankers, he brings the same conviction: that community banks and credit unions are not relics of a simpler time — they are essential institutions with a compelling future, if they're willing to lead into it.
Jim Perry — Senior Strategist
Jim Perry has been Senior Strategist at Market Insights for more than 20 years and is a trusted advisor to financial institutions across the country. Widely regarded as a strategic futurist, he draws on market research, performance data, and competitor analysis to help leaders make better decisions — reducing risk and increasing the likelihood of success. Deep familiarity with the fintech landscape is central to his work — helping community banks and credit unions identify, evaluate, and build partnerships with solution providers that are the right fit for their size, culture, and strategic goals.
He speaks regularly at conferences and on webinars, and is a familiar voice on leading industry podcasts including Breaking Banks, Banking Transformed, and the American Banker Podcast. He co-founded the Fintech Book Club on LinkedIn and writes the Bank Forward newsletter.
Jim's work focuses on the forces reshaping how consumers find, choose, and stay loyal to financial institutions — and what community banks and credit unions need to do differently in response. He brings an analytical perspective and a commitment to candor — focused on helping leaders see their situation clearly and move forward with confidence.
our philosophy
We believe the most valuable thing a consultant can offer is not a framework or a deliverable — it's a clearer way of seeing. The forces reshaping banking aren't arriving one at a time anymore. Technology, consumer expectations, demographics, regulation, and competition are colliding, interacting, and producing outcomes none of us fully anticipated. And now artificial intelligence is accelerating all of it — changing how consumers find and choose financial institutions, how work gets done inside them, and how quickly the competitive landscape can shift.
It's human nature to default to what's always worked. But the pace of change happening right now doesn't leave room for that instinct. The institutions that get ahead of it will be the ones willing to move forward with conviction — not the ones hoping the pace slows down.
We start with your markets, your customers/members, your challenges — and build from there. No boilerplate. No methodology developed for a different kind of client. Just experienced, independent counsel from people who have worked exclusively in community banking and credit unions for more than 30 years.