Ellen Naylor
Inducted: 2006
Specialties: Primary Research, Market Analysis, Foresight/Futures, Win/Loss, HUMINT
Geographies: North America
Industries: Banking and Finance, Construction, Consulting, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Non-profit and Social Services, Technology, Telecommunications, Utilities
Ellen Naylor: CEO of Business Intelligence Source
Ellen Naylor is one of America’s pioneers in competitive intelligence and Win Loss analysis with over 40 years of experience across many industries. Ellen initiated Bell Atlantic’s (Verizon’s) competitive intelligence program for enterprise marketing in 1985.
Her company, Business Intelligence Source, has consistently helped its clients beat the competition. In 2025, she pivoted her business to help companies develop in-house Win/Loss programs. She also trains people how to use elicitation techniques to capture the information they seek from talking to a human whether they work in sales, marketing or competitive intelligence!
Ellen, who is full of the blarney stone, is an expert conversationalist since she loves to hear people’s stories. She skillfully engages people during video conferences, telephone and in-person conversations. Learn about her secrets to get people to open up to you and share valuable information in her book, Loosen Their Lips: How to Capture the Information You Seek During a conversation.
Ellen’s passion for Win Loss analysis stems from her sales experience. There she learned that customers and those who chose the competition were a real-time source of competitive, product and market insight. If you want to find out how to win and retain more business, check out her book, Win/Loss Analysis: How to Capture and Keep the Business You Want.
Ellen has delivered hundreds of competitive intelligence presentations, workshops and webinars for clients as well as conferences and universities globally, her most popular on Elicitation and Win/Loss Analysis.
Ellen has contributed to the Strategic Consortium of Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), as a board member, author and frequent speaker. SCIP recognized Ellen with the Fellow and Catalyst awards in appreciation of her leadership and contributions to competitive intelligence. Ellen continues to contribute to the Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellows where she served as a board member for several years at its inception.
Earning her BA in international studies from the University of Notre Dame, in the second class of graduating women, and her MBA at the Darden Graduate School of Business, Ellen understands business. She is fluent in French. Born and raised in Japan, Ellen weaves in international experience and culture with her consulting clients.
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