Rock n' Roll Research Podcast

Dan Braker started his insights career with the Angus Reid Group in Canada, later purchased by Ipsos. He moved to LA and started Breakthrough Research in 2013.

In his spare time, Dan became an accomplished independent filmmaker and screenwriter, including the short film, “Peace,” starring Kurtwood Smith from “That 70’s Show.”

Dan shares his career journey, his take on the future of insights and why it is easier to makes films in Canada than Los Angeles.

Ryan Fennelly’s passion and expertise in behavioral science led him to found his consultancy, Valsier, earlier this year after an insight career with Suntory, PepsiCo, Circana and Ipsos.

But Ryan is also a shredding metal guitarist which led to him playing at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park and meeting Sebastian Bach (Gilmore Girls era).

Ryan contrasts what he learned from the supplier- and client-sides of the industry. He also shares his take on the future of insights with some rock n’ roll stories along the way.

Shawn Herbig prefers his old fashioned with a side of insights.

After starting his career at Ford Motor Company, Shawn founded IQS Research in Louisville which is still going strong after 27 years.

But that’s not his only venture. Shawn is also the Founder and Chief Infusion Officer at Bluegrass Bitters where they are making and shipping award-winning extracts that will make you the “hero of your home bar.”

Shawn shares what he’s learned across both journeys, and how his insights background has helped make his bitters business a success.

After training in electrical engineering and finance, a split-second decision to join P&G’s Consumer Market Knowledge department in Saudi Arabia launched Yogesh Chavda’s lifelong career in global insights, marketing and strategy.

Since then, he’s had his boots on the ground on nearly every continent with companies like P&G, Spotify, Pinterest and Kimberly-Clark. He is the Founder of Y2S Consulting, Co-Founder of The Yogi AI and runs the Next Frontiers in Insights podcast and the In Search of Normal newsletter.

In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover:

- What being a “Third Culture Kid” has meant to his life and career

- The power of calculated risks

- The signals we should be paying attention to (companion robots, anyone?)

- Why he spends so much time on TikTok

- Why we should be optimistic about the future of insights

- And meeting Katy Perry + his clever dating solution as a young, single guy in Saudi Arabia

During the week, Jeff Howanek is a Sr. Director at the Langston Company, a top consumer insights firm in Denver focused on modular approaches and thoughtful use of AI.

But when the weekend comes, you can find Jeff helping others make lifetime memories by laying down tasty bass lines for a wedding band.

Jeff traces his career path from social media startup to the Futures Company (Kantar) to Langston. He also shares his journey through playing music, his media diet and the albums he’d choose if stranded on a desert island.

“I will never again build a strategy that is not built on consumer insights.” 

That is a lesson Pam Everett learned the hard way earlier in her career as a product manager at Husqvarna. She has gone on to apply that lesson in product, innovation and insights roles at S&D/Westrock Coffee, Grupo Bimbo and Electrolux.

Pam shares stories and her perspective on consumer-led innovation and the uncertainty that lay ahead. But also her deep passion for the music from the famed city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which also happens to be where she grew up.

Kahren Kersten is a highly trusted strategic advisor and consultant through both Cambiar and her own firm, Experience Insights. She is an Insight250 member and passionate industry advocate through her involvement in the Market Research Council and the Insights Career Network among others.

Kahren traces her unique trajectory - with creativity as a throughline - from art to insight to design and strategic advisory. She also shares why she’s optimistic about the future of insights and the jams she’d want to keep her company if stranded on a desert island.

A behavioral economist, a BBC quiz show winner and a 14-yr old college student walk into a bar . . . and they realize they are all Leigh Caldwell, founder of Irrational Agency.

Leigh traces his intellectual, social and career path including his book, “The Psychology of Price,” and his experience on the BBC show, Only Connect. More importantly, he shares his ideas around “System 3” thinking, the power of narrative research and what it all means for marketers and researchers.

Brian Peterson is currently Digital Marketing Director at the top tier sample company, EMI Research Solutions, where he has been for the past 9 years. He’s also the long-time host of the Intellicast podcast.

We talk synthetic data, digital twins and training data. But we also discuss our respective experiences with the Yellow Pages, the Dallas Stars and what it’s like to be a Canadian raising a family in the US, eh?

Alisa Hamilton is the founder of Harvest Insights in Atlanta. She made waves recently by announcing that every proposal she delivers will now come with two prices: with and without AI. That’s the kind of transparency that is sorely lacking at the moment!

Alisa and I discuss her career trajectory, her passion for gardening, AI research applications and her dad’s band who charted a song in Buffalo, NY back in 1970!