Speakers


















































Programme Committee Chair
Director of Global Qualitative Research
Mina Sfondilis is currently a Qualitative Researcher and has worked at PepsiCo for 16 years. During that time, she has worked in the Sensory & Consumer Product Insights department in various capacities. Her most recent role began in 2007, when she worked in collaboration with other colleagues to create the Qualitative Research area within the sensory group. Since then Mina has created a full department that is responsible for front end research in the Innovation project cycle across all PepsiCo brands.
Mina has a background in Psychology. Her BS is from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and her MS is from Loyola University Chicago. Mina is a trained psychotherapist, and started her career in the clinical setting in high schools, hospitals, and mental health centers. She continues to work against this love of helping others through volunteer work in her spare time.
Market Research Manager
Managing Partner Couture
Senior Qualitative Researcher
Closing keynote speaker
Partner
Obsessive serial entrepreneur, polymath and creative thinker, he has 21 startups under his belt and a few extra pounds on top, some patents and a track record for getting exotic things done. For the past few years he has been invested in helping startups get to market, having been a trainer and mentor at some of the best known acceleration programs in Europe, and creating an ethical framework for technological evolution.
Strategy and Insights Associate Manager
Programme Committee
ESOMAR Council Member / Founder & Owner
After graduating from Business School, Anne Sophie made for marketing at Unilever (Frozen Food & Ice cream Division) and Lactalis (Butter & Cheese) working as a product manager. There, her heart was captured by market research, which she continued at Nielsen Company as a Senior Account Manager and moved into marketing intelligence as a Food & Drinks Manager.
Keen on research, innovation and brands, Anne-Sophie founded Blue Lemon Qualitative Research & Consulting in 2007, operating worldwide within a cross-cultural approach, working with passion helping brands create value and strong connections with their consumers/customers.
She became an active ESOMAR member in 2008. ESOMAR has been offering fantastic opportunities to share thoughts, develop partnerships and meet great people in a professional, friendly and warm atmosphere. Re-elected as council member Anne Sophie is honoured and proud to keep helping and serving market research industry.
Opening keynote speaker
Associate Director
Alastair Donald became associate director of the Institute of Ideas in January 2017. He coordinates planning and programming across projects including Battle of Ideas and Battle of Ideas Europe, and is co-founder of the IoI's residential school Living Freedom which allows 18-25-year-olds to explore the meaning and ideals of freedom in the twenty-first century.
Alastair is an experienced cultural programmer having worked in the UK and internationally to develop festivals, exhibitions and curated programmes. He is a founding member of New Narratives and also of mantownhuman, which published Manifesto: towards a new humanism in architecture (2008). The Manifesto featured in Penguin Classics 100 Artists’ Manifestos. He is also co-convener of Critical Subjects, mantownhuman’s international residential architecture school based in London.
Alastair is the co-editor of The Lure of the City: from slums to suburbs (2011) and The Future of Community: reports of a death greatly exaggerated (2008). He has written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Independent, City Metric, Architectural Review and Blueprint.
Senior Research Director
Programme Committee
Senior Analyst
Akiko is a senior analyst at INTAGE and has more than 15 years of experience in market research. Since joining INTAGE in 2014, she has been responsible for developing qualitative research solutions. She is particularly enthusiastic about exploring customer experiences through various approaches, such as using smartphones to capture moments, or employing cognitive interviews as a storytelling technique and Tarot cards as visual aids to bring out emotions. She continues her journey as a researcher, seeking to develop new and inspiring approaches to explore consumers’ mind.
Associate Research Manager
Principal Strategy Consultant
Sander Kluiters MSc. studied Business Economics and Organization at the University of Amsterdam. Sander has over 20 years of experience in qualitative research. Since 2005 he has been working for Motivaction, the largest independent Dutch market research agency for research based consultancy.
In his current position as a principal strategy consultant he oversees a wide range of area´s like communication, strategic positioning and concept testing. Sander is much appreciated for his advice in consumer behaviour, sales, marketing and strategy and is specialized in persuasion tactics. He was nominated for the MOA (Dutch research association) researcher of the year award in 2011.
Sander is always looking for new ways to improve and further develop qualitative research and gain insight into subconscious consumer behaviour. For instance he has developed InnerWorld and was recently certified as an NLP Practitioner.
Marketing Manager
Qualitative Department Director
Head of Market Intelligence
Global Consumer Marketing Fabric Care Manager
Business Development Director
Consumer & Market Insights Group Manager
Consumer Insight Specialist
Founder
Frits is the founder and former managing director of Motivaction in the Netherlands. He was the president of ESOMAR 2007-2009 and was a member of the ESOMAR Council until 2010.
Frits is still active at Motivaction and also gives lectures and workshops. Frits is also very active in both the cultural and business landscapes. In 2005 he was honoured for his contributions, specifically his work on the Mentality-model, by being awarded the Order of Orange-Nassau a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry awarded to those who deserve appreciation and recognition from society.
Managing Partner Couture
Head of Consumer Planning Africa Regional Markets
Programme Committee
Market Insights Manager
Jose heads market research for the lottery division of Canadian Bank Note Company. In his current role as Market Insights Manager, he spearheads market research endeavours aimed at better understanding consumer sentiment on game brands, the impact of direct and indirect competitors and the potential of new product lines and new markets. He has a 360 degree view of research methodologies, techniques and strategies.
Prior to CBN, Jose worked in market research in the media industry working for leading organizations such as Discovery Communications, ESPN Networks and Viacom.
Head of Semiotics and Syndicated Studies
Programme Committee
Director