Bruce Shandler, CEO
Bruce has worked in the marketing research industry for over 35 years and was a partner at Intersearch, one of the premier top 10 research companies in the US. Prior to joining The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG), Bruce was CEO of TNS North America and helped grow that organization from a 40 million dollar company to over 150 million dollar enterprise during his 6 year term. Bruce's primary area of expertise is rapidly growing small to medium research entities into major international organizations. His other areas of expertise include strategic development, technology research and mergers and acquisitions. Bruce served as a member of the TNS Board of Directors and the Advisory Board at University of Texas, Arlington. He is a graduate of Philadelphia University.
Ron Cosgrove, Executive Vice President, President Healthcare Division
Ron is responsible for The Research Intelligence Group’s Healthcare consulting practice as well as the specialty sector of the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) . His responsibilities are to support development of resources and services to fulfill client needs. He provides hands on management of key clients, supporting proposal development, quality control and analysis of results to support strategic marketing decisions. Having worked in pharmaceutical market research for over 15 years, Ron has the experience to know when to utilize custom and syndicated market research to support a broad array of pharmaceutical business decisions. Ron is equally experienced with qualitative and quantitative solutions because he focuses on the client's business decision and uses the right custom research design to support that decision within the budget and timeline. Prior to joining Leger, Ron had been with TNS for nearly 18 years. During that time, he held management positions in market research operations, Stakeholder Management and most recently served as a business unit leader within the Healthcare practice.
Greg Halperin, PhD, Senior Vice President
Greg has conducted healthcare research for over 20 years within market research, applied, and academic settings. Within market research, Greg works with consumer healthcare clients to better understand their markets, brands, and opportunities, through innovation, brand equity, and retail and shopper insights research consultation. Beyond market research, Greg has also acted as a clinician and healthcare provider, and has a keen understanding of the role of the relationship between practitioner and patient/consumer in healthcare decision-making. With a background in research methodology and applied market understanding, Greg brings consultation to clients that maximize the value of research in developing actionable recommendations. He holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University.
Howard Jaffe, Vice President Healthcare
Howard Jaffe, Senior Vice President is a strategically oriented pharmaceutical market researcher whose capabilities span the life cycle of drugs from early clinical trials to years post-launch. He has applied his broad experience to innovations in qualitative and quantitative studies for new pharmaceutical products, brand development, and ad testing. He serves as team leader and is an active researcher. He works in a broad range of therapeutic classes including neuroscience, metabolism, anti-infectives, respiratory, oncology and immunology. Mr. Jaffe has had a varied career in pharmaceutical marketing and marketing research. He led qualitative and quantitative market research projects for major pharmaceutical clients while at leading global agencies and also from the client side at Merck and BMS. His capabilities are enhanced by his experiences in sales, as a Professional Representative – Hospital Specialist in marketing as a Group Product Director at Pfizer, and in advertising, as a Copywriter / AE at several major ad agencies. Many of his projects and assignments have been for global marketing or marketing research. He studied Italian and French. In addition to his work experience, Mr. Jaffe studied neuroanatomy, histology, biochemistry, and cell biology at Temple Medical School in a graduate program in pharmacology. Mr. Jaffe earned an M.S. in Biology at Villanova University, and M.Ed. in Secondary Education at Lehigh University, and a B.A. in Liberal Arts at Temple University.
David Kweskin, Vice President, Healthcare
David is a specialist in communication research and loyalty research practitioner. He has over 15 years of communication research experience regarding Rx advertising to consumer (DTC) on the research agency side and additional years of brand & communication research in non-DTC sectors among consumers.
He is a frequent contributor to trade publications including DTC Perspectives. As an expert in DTC he has been an invited speaker at trade conferences on DTC communication including PMRG –the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group, the DTC National Conference and has led a DTC workshop for the Advertising Research Foundation. David also served as a judge in selecting the best DTC advertising.
David holds a BS in psychology from University of Pittsburgh and holds a MS degree in psychology from Boston University. David has been affiliated with leading research agencies, advertising agencies and a HBA manufacturer.
Joan Mancuso, Senior Vice President
Joan applies her twenty-five years’ of research experience (including clinical research) to all of her marketing research engagements. With expertise and thought leadership in segmentation, pricing and product development, brand equity, and customer satisfaction, she has extensive experience designing and deploying complex B2B and multi-country projects. She has worked with a variety of clients in many sectors, with a focus on telecom and technology since 1998. Other focus areas include healthcare and energy. With her varied background that cuts across many social science disciplines, Joan is able to bring together multidisciplinary teams of professionals in a harmonious and productive mix that results in crisply laid out insights for her clients. Joan earned her M.B.A. in Management from Johns Hopkins University and her Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences and Studio Art from Stanford University. She has also completed coursework for a Masters degree in Sociology at Brown University.
Karen Stuth, Senior Vice President
Karen is responsible for developing and managing global accounts among a broad range of companies, with a specialization in information technology and information delivery and publishing industries. With more than two and a half decades of marketing, business development, and marketing research experience, Ms. Stuth's professional background includes both marketing and market research management on both the client and supplier side. A skilled methodologist, Ms. Stuth has also successfully designed and executed complex international research studies spanning all points along the product life cycle, producing actionable and meaningful results for her clients. Ms. Stuth holds a Bachelor's degree from Stephens College, a Master's degree from The University of Missouri, a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law, and has additional post-graduate work in research and statistics. A licensed attorney, Ms. Stuth has also taught graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing research, business research, and business law at Regis University in Colorado.
Robert Kaplan-Sherman, President Services Division
Rob has spent the past 17 years leading both qualitative and quantitative research initiatives. Most of the studies he leads involve advanced methodological designs and/or statistical analyses. Prior to joining The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG), Rob was the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Research at LRA Worldwide and Vice President at Hase/Schannen. Rob graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in sociology and psychology and attended Indiana University’s graduate program in Sociology. For the past 10 years, he has specialized in research that can be characterized as customer experience measurement, where he specialized in validating improved customer experiences to targeted business outcomes (e.g., revenue, market share, reduced attrition). He frequently uses customized, innovative conjoint measurement techniques as a tool for these types of initiatives. While he has worked with a diverse range of industries, the bulk of his work has centered within financial services, hospitality and sports and entertainment. Rob is married to Alicia and has one son, Pax. In his spare time, you will find Rob managing his son’s travel baseball team and (loudly) cheering for his favorite team, the New York Mets.
Jules Carney, Vice President
Jules’s research approach starts with a philosophy: Getting a seat at the decision making table means clearly identifying and articulation the problem, then providing usable insight and understanding designed to solve a client’s fundamental business issue - without that, there is no value. Jules has provided innovative and insightful quantitative and qualitative research solutions for over 18 years to some of the most recognizable brands in the world of telecom, energy, financial services, technology and real estate development. He has led large-scale multi-cultural and multi-national research initiatives in the areas of brand and product development, customer segmentation, customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as advertising and audience measurement. In addition, with his background in Industrial Organizational Psychology and Organizational Development, Jules has been involved in helping drive knowledge (learned in the marketplace) into every level of the organization. His work has helped organizations set up “success metrics” (around training, systems/process development and marketing) in order for those companies to deliver successful, customer-centric solutions that create meaningful ROI. Jules earned his Master’s degree in Applied Psychology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he also held a position as adjunct professor teaching statistics.
Simon Jaworski, Vice President, Account Executive
Simon is a Vice President Account Executive at The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG). He designs and executes a wide repertoire of qualitative and quantitative research studies for his client base. Simon graduated from Liverpool Business School (John Moores University, Liverpool, UK) in 1996 with a degree in Business Studies, majoring in Marketing. Simon's work career began at Unilever, where he interned as a Marketing Analyst for the Brand, Sales and Category Management teams. In his first post-graduate position he set up the Market Research department at Robert McBride's in Manchester England, in 1996, before working as a Market Analyst for Georgia Pacific until the end of 2000. In early 2001, he gave up his career in England and moved to the States, to be with his long distance girlfriend, Beth, a girl he met purely by chance, on a vacation in Ireland in 1999. Simon and Beth were married in 2004 and now have two wonderful sons named Ethan and Ashton, who are destined to play for Manchester United. Simon's US career took him to the market research supplier side with TNS, and he successfully worked his way up the company ranks, from Project Director to Account Executive, working on all manner of research studies within consumer packaged goods for seven years, until joining TRiG in January 2008. Among the state lotteries Simon has done research for over the past seven years, are Kentucky, Washington, Ohio, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, South Carolina, South Dakota, with study types including multi-domain segmentations, online strategy share tests, attitude & usage studies, concept tests and focus groups. For his sins, Simon roots passionately for the New York Metropolitans.
Cindy Kaminski, Vice President
As Vice-President, Cindy is primarily responsible for strategic consultation, quality control, and business planning across a number of sectors, but with a particular expertise in retail and electronics research. With about 30 years experience in new product planning and market research, Cindy has been a leading figure in all phases of both qualitative and quantitative projects across The Research Intelligence Group's divisions, including marketing, client consultation, research design, moderation, questionnaire development, analysis, reports and presentations. Included in her repertoire of research topics are projects regarding brand evaluation, communication evaluation, customer/employee satisfaction, new product development, advertising testing, corporate image and public attitude studies. Prior to joining The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG), Cindy was President of ARC a company that specialized in conducting research for the Yellow Pages Industry. She has also worked for TNS where she wore two hats, one as an account executive and the other as a expert in conducting international research. She has an MBA in Marketing.
Denise Previti, Vice President, Account Executive
With her broad background in quantitative and qualitative research, Denise specializes in understanding the consumer experience: What considerations go into choosing one brand over another? How can new products fit into established routines? What are the intangible benefits of a given product feature? What messages resonate most effectively with a given consumer target? She helps her clients design the most efficient and actionable market research to answer their business questions. Her research expertise includes choice modeling, concept/product testing, pricing initiatives, consumer diary studies, attitude and usage studies, decision tree analyses, multi-domain segmentations, and brand equity research. Denise works as an extension of her clients’ teams. She has a strong track record of helping clients focus on the overall success of a product or brand, while paying close attention to the details that make each project generate clear insights and actionable recommendations. Denise holds a dual M.A. in sociology and demography from The Pennsylvania State University, and a B.A from Washington and Lee University.
Brigitte Zepernick, Senior Director, Buisness Development
She has over 20 years experience in the technology research advisory and consulting industry. Her most recent position was with Gartner but she has also held sales positions with Forrester, Ovum, and NetRatings. Brigitte has had responsibility for managing and successfully growing accounts such as HP, Cisco, Oracle, Gap, Nike, Amazon, and Apple, just to name a few.
Brigitte is married with 2 children. Her son is 11 and her daughter is 14. She and her husband Chris love to cook and host dinner parties. As a family, they love to travel and in the winter, ski on weekends.
Hélène Simard, Vice President, Business Development Québec-USA
With eighteen years of experience in marketing research and strategy, and a Master's in Marketing from the Université of Sherbrooke (Canada), Hélène Simard has an enviable track record. At the head of her own research firm for several years, she then joined a marketing and communication firm in Montreal (Canada) where she was director of the strategy and research division for eight years. She subsequently joined a finance, marketing and management firm, where she conducted several projects for small and medium-sized companies. Her career path led her to Léger Marketing (the parent company of TRiG) as research director. Finally at TRiG, she is responsible for developing business with Canadian export companies in the US.
Hélène Simard is a consultant for businesses and organizations in the governmental, paragovernmental, municipal, retail, industrial, telecommunication and educational sectors. She has supervised and conducted market research, strategic plans, corporate image, positioning and customer satisfaction studies for major companies, ministries and public corporations.
Hélène Simard masters quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and has moderated more than 500 group discussions during her career. She has also taught university-level courses (marketing research) at the bachelor and MBA levels in Canada and France.
Sarwar Baqar, Senior Account Manager
Sarwar has more than ten years of experience in custom research design and implementation across many industry sectors including, customer loyalty and satisfaction, advertising, brand awareness, market segmentation, and concept testing research. His qualifications span both quantitative and qualitative methodologies encompassing both consumer and B2B research. Sarwar is a resourceful market researcher with extensive background in conducting cost-effective primary research, analysis of results and developing practical reports. Sarwar, in the current role of account manager is responsible for detailed and sophisticated research projects from their inception through study design, sample analysis, questionnaire development, data collection, quality control, report preparation, and analysis. Sarwar has managed numerous business-to-business and consumer research studies, both domestically and internationally, using a wide variety of data collection methodologies (telephone, Internet, mail, etc.). Sarwar has a Bachelors of Science degree in Business and Marketing.
Janet Buczek, Senior Account Manager
Janet joined The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG) as a Senior Account Manager in March of 2008. An experienced and client-oriented research professional, Janet Buczek’s project management experience extends across multiple industries, including consumer and IT research, and even includes academic psychological research. Supported by years of high-level project management experience in both the business and academic research world, Janet’s substantial skill set includes multi-layered project management and coordination, survey construction, data analysis, and reporting. Although Janet’s special talent lies in managing large-scale complex projects, where her organizational and people skills are put to best use, she is also a gifted analyst who brings to bear her multidisciplinary research background in combination with her background in human behavior research. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Psychology from Iona College, New Rochelle, New York, Janet began her market research career at SMS Research and Marketing Services in Honolulu, Hawaii. SMS is the largest market research company in Hawaii and it was there that Janet was exposed to and gained hands-on experience in all areas of project planning, execution, and analysis within a variety of industries. Upon re-locating back to the continental US, Janet joined TNS as a project director in the IT sector and was promoted to senior project director a year later. In 2005, Janet joined Synovate as a senior study director in the Technology & Telecom sector, advancing to Account Group Manager prior to joining TRiG in 2008.
Christine Keshanech, Senior Account Manager
Christine Keshanech has over 20 years of experience as a marketing research supplier. Christine manages an array of marketing research studies including on and off line, domestic and international. Christine manages all aspects of marketing research projects for quantitative methodologies including questionnaire development, data collection and data processing management and analysis. Christine began her marketing research career at a small marketing research company as an interviewer conducting phone, intercept and door-to-door interviews. She supervised the phone room as well as performed the coding and editing of hard copy questionnaires. Most recently, Christine spent the past twelve years at TNS. Christine joined TNS as a senior project director and was promoted to a manager responsible for mentoring a small group of project directors and developing quality control standards and practices for the group. Christine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Administration from Temple University.
Chris Witz, Account Manager
Chris has an established track record of enabling clients to overcome challenges that require innovative research techniques and an analytical mindset to produce actionable business intelligence. He has over 4 years of experience managing market research projects in industries such as healthcare, consumer packaged goods, software and financial services. Chris has experience with all project phases from research and questionnaire design to survey programming, data collection, analysis and reporting. He has managed product development, product opportunity assessment, message development, creative concept testing, segmentation, customer satisfaction and online behavioral studies.
Chris was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Stratford, Connecticut. He earned an MBA with a concentration in Marketing and an MS in Information Systems from Boston University. He received his BS in Sociology. Chris spent the year of 2002 teaching English in the Czech Republic. In his spare time, he explores his interest in sports, culture and travel. In 2010, Chris made his triumphant return to Philadelphia, where he currently resides with his lovely wife Sara.
Renata Cacciatore, Account Manager
Renata joined The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG) as an Account Manager in May of 2011. With more than 8 years of custom market research experience, Renata’s project management skills extends across multiple industries, including IT, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Hospitality, and Financial Services.
Prior to joining TRIG, Renata had been at TNS since June of 2007 primarily working on large tracking programs. Her primary role was to manage the overall day-to-day project, including survey design, managing complex sample designs, managing fieldwork for 70 countries, questionnaire design, data processing, report writing, as well as communicating and coordinating with internal and external team members.
Renata began her career at The Response Center (TRC), where she started as an interviewer and subsequently was promoted to a Project Director.
Renata holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a concentration in Marketing from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Renata lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband Nick, their son, Nathan and a crazy little dog, Maci.
Matthew Heitzer, Account Manager
Mattthew comes to The Research Intelligence Group with more than 5 years of experience working in the Technology Sector. He also co-ran the ABC News/Washington Post Social and Political Poll. Prior to joining both the Polling and Tech groups, he primarily worked for the third party Professional Services team across multiple specialties.
Matthew worked for the Strategic Sourcing Consulting firm SourceOne as a Project Manager in the Telecom and Materials Divisions. Matthew received his BA from The Pennsylvania State University – University Park, his MA from Temple University in Philadelphia, and his JD from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, GA.
Matthew is an occasional freelance writer (his articles have appeared in KidSports Magazine and ScoopMe), an aspiring Chef, and enjoys traveling with his wife to the types of places that require sun block and put umbrellas in your drink at the swim up bar. While not abroad, he can usually be seen most evenings playing the parts of Toby the Steam Tram and Percy for his young son’s impromptu performances of Thomas the Tank Engine in their living room.
Kasey Ryan Dougherty, Account Manager
Kasey Ryan Dougherty has a breadth of experience in applying a psychosocial perspective in oncology market research. This unique expertise enables her to unlock insights and measure the social and emotional impacts of a cancer diagnosis on patients and caregivers.
Formerly a research manager for the Cancer Support Community, she managed several market research projects for major pharmaceutical firms and cancer advocacy groups. Kasey’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and presented at several academic and professional conferences including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Society of Behavioral Medicine, Biennial Cancer Survivorship Research Conference, and the International Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Prior to her work in the non-profit sector, Kasey was the Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Dickinson College where she spent seven years building a nationally ranked program, and pursued M.A. in Community Psychology and Social Change from the Pennsylvania State University. In 1999, she graduated with an undergraduate degree in both Sociology and American Studies from Franklin & Marshall College.
Alison Epstein, Executive Assistant/Project Manager
Alison grew up in Langhorne, Pennsylvania and attended Syracuse University. While there, Alison majored in Information Science and Technology. She also studied aboard the SS Universe, through the institute for Shipboard Education for a semester. While on board, Alison got to experience many cultures around the world including China, Vietnam, India, and Turkey, just to name a few. After Graduating Cum Laude from Syracuse University, Alison went to work as a Project Manager at TNS Intersearch in Horsham, PA. After about 1 year Alison moved on to the IT department at PSC Info Group in Oaks, PA and remained there until maternity leave with her first son. While having 3 children, she worked as an office manager for her husband’s custom cabinetry business. As well as being a sounding board, she was also in charge of advertising and banking.