The InnovateMR Team
The Executive Team
At InnovateMR we pride ourselves not only on our quality sample and cutting-edge technologies, but also on the talent of our team. The company has flourished and continues to thrive under the leadership and guidance of some of the brightest minds and most skilled executives in the business.
Lisa Wilding-Brown has been in the industry for nearly 20 years. Lisa’s specialties include executive business leadership, product innovation, sampling and survey design, panel development and management, online and mobile recruitment as well as full service mixed-mode field management across a multitude of industry sectors. As Chief Executive Officer at InnovateMR, Lisa has a passion for building strong relationships and a relentless mission to drive innovation and efficiency. Lisa and the InnovateMR executive team deliver transformational research strategies for their clients by harnessing the power of technology-enabled solutions that accelerate and activate insights for agencies and brands alike. In 2021, Lisa and the InnovateMR team launched the Vision Suite, a fully integrated and hyper-intuitive research platform that allows market researchers and marketing professionals the autonomy to conduct high quality research; expediting the insights journey and answering the resounding call for democratized and accessible insights.
Prior to joining Innovate, Lisa was a member of the executive team at uSamp where she developed the company’s global panel and led the firm’s mobile business division. Lisa got her start in insights at Harris Interactive, where she played an instrumental role in developing the company’s first full-service online project management practice. Lisa later joined the panel team, focusing her efforts on research-on-research, survey methodology, specialty panel development and online user engagement for the Harris Poll Online.
Lisa serves on the board for both the MMRA and UTA’s Master of Science in Marketing Research and she is an active contributor to WIRexec, the Women-in-Research mentorship program and the Global Research Business Network. Lisa is a widely sought after global speaker and she has presented at such conferences as AAPOR, ESOMAR, the MRMW North America and Europe, The MRS, The Insights Association, IIEX, SampleCon and she has published research related to business transformation, operational efficiency, data privacy, multicultural insights, participant engagement, online survey design, fraud mitigation and mobile best practices.
Wilding-Brown is a founding member of the Multicultural Insights Collective, an inaugural member of the Insights Association’s Laureate Program, nominated Insights Top 250 industry leader list, a recipient of the Global Research Business Network’s Participant Excellence Program and an elected member of the ESOMAR Global Council 2021-2023. Lisa attended the State University of New York at Geneseo where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double BA in International Relations and Communication with minors in Political Science & History. Lisa also attended the University College Dublin where she pursued Graduate Studies in Politics & History.
John Tan has over 25 years of industry experience. His expertise includes scaling high growth organizations, building and driving business strategies with a strong focus on client service solutions and operational excellence. As the Chief Operating Officer for InnovateMR, he will be responsible for the overall strategic and tactical delivery of our global operations.
Previously, Tan served as Senior Vice President, Global Operations at Greenfield Online, where he successfully scaled the operation to support five-fold revenue growth while simultaneously improving customer satisfaction. Later in his career, Tan served as Executive Vice President of Global Operations for Research Now where he built and led a 600-member global team and substantially improved customer satisfaction ratings during his tenure. In addition to his exceptional operational leadership and a deep commitment to client advocacy, Tan has been instrumental in helping businesses scale and he has held a number of positions at both large global companies as well as advised several technology start-ups. John graduated from the US Naval Academy with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and served as Surface Warfare Officer in the US Navy.
Maulik Chandarana has been in the industry for 14+ years and having 17+ years of overall experience in technology field. Maulik’s specialities include web/mobile development, relational and non-relational database design, Business Intelligence, Reporting, Server architecture, Release Deployment and Best engineering practices. As SVP of Engineering at InnovateMR, Maulik leads the engineering team and is passionate about improving processes, reducing cost, eliminating barriers and continuous delivery. Maulik has extensive leadership experience across diverse roles in technology field and expertise in designing scalable, secure and cost effective solutions for Market Research industry, service oriented architecture having multiple interdependent modules, SQL and noSQL database design.
Prior to joining Innovate, Maulik worked as Tech lead for BI and development teams for uSamp and Instant.ly (via Persistent Systems). He played a key role in development of uSamp products from scratch with database design, coding architecture, server architecture on AWS, setup of engineering processes and end to end deliverables. Prior to uSamp, He worked with Clarion Technologies and Hidden Brains Infotech as Web developer. Maulik graduated from North Gujarat University with Bachelor or Engineering in Information Technology.
As an industry veteran of 10+ years, Amanda Keller-Grill specializes in res-tech product innovation, programmatic solutions, executive leadership, client delivery, sample design, platforms, and automation. Amanda has extensive leadership experience across diverse roles, affording her a comprehensive understanding of customer requirements, and the rising demand for the evolution of the research experience.
As SVP of Global Innovation and Product Strategy at InnovateMR, Amanda has a passion for building scalable products and technology-enabled solutions. Amanda is responsible for product innovation, strategy, and development, and strives to ensure exceptional product and customer experience. Amanda brings expertise in data-driven product development with concentration on efficiency and innovation. In 2021, Amanda and the team launched the Vision Suite; a fully integrated collection of next generation products that execute autonomous high-quality research and expedites the insights journey.
With a tenured background in Operations, Amanda was InnovateMR’s VP of Global Client Service for several years. As InnovateMR’s first employee, Amanda was responsible for scaling operational delivery, driving operational excellence, and the strategic delivery of quantitative projects including hard-to-reach audiences, longitudinal research, and leveraging her expertise in non-traditional recruitment techniques. In addition to her leadership roles at InnovateMR, Amanda also shares her knowledge with the wider industry as a Women in Research Mentor and as a featured presenter across webinars and industry conferences.
Prior to InnovateMR, Amanda led the North American, LATAM, and APAC Operations at Cint where she successfully scaled sustainable growth while improving customer satisfaction. Amanda got her start in Market Research at Toluna, where she played a key role in developing process to service high revenue clients. Amanda graduated Cum Laude with honors from University of California, Los Angeles with a double BA in Communication Studies and Political Science.
Sandy Casey has been in the industry for nearly 20 years. Sandy specializes in res-tech product innovation, automation / DIY platforms, supply creation, operations, panel development and management. Through the years, Sandy has consistently built supply, improved supply management, led supply technology framework and developed operational and sampling best practices, leading to a significant increase in revenue, decrease in COGS, and overall increase in EBITA and margin in unison at all of the organizations Sandy has worked with. Sandy is noted as one of the top supply executives globally with a special expertise in B2B research and hard to find audiences. She has a special knack of finding that very unique niche audience across the globe, as well as expanding the easier to find and combining them into a strategic supply model.
As SVP of Global Supply at InnovateMR, Sandy excels at building strong relationships internally and externally with an entrepreneurial spirit driving innovation, automation and systematic efficiencies.
Sandy and the InnovateMR team drive the InnovateMR organization to excel at completing projects no other company would dare take on. Her vast experience of building specialized panels, audiences and procurement agreements, has allowed InnvoateMR to “get the work done” in a streamlined and cost efficient manner. While at InnvoateMR, Sandy has increased the supply reach from a few million to tens of millions, led a re-launch of the panel, product development of sampling automation and is well on her way to framing out what will be a one- of-a-kind supply automation tool, pulling together supply sources around the globe who meet or exceed extensive quality guidelines from various supply channels.
Prior to joining Innovate, Sandy was a member of the management team at Toluna, formerly Greenfield Online, where she developed the company’s new and improved global panel, built the framework of a highly efficient API, grew supply reach from less than one million to over 30 million and led the organizaiton’s overall supply strategy. Early in her time at Greenfield Online Sandy built the B2B practice, growing a business unit from nothing to $2.5M year one to $7M year three.
Prior to Toluna Sandy worked at Cint as a member of the executive team as VP of Global Operations and SVP of Global Supply later in her tenure with Cint. Sandy helped design the development of the DIY Access and Engagement tools, all the while increasing the supply reach across the globe from 1.2M to over 22M at the time of her exit.
Sandy has presented at such conferences as ARF, Advertising Research Foundation, and Samplecon focused on creative panel building and management as well as the challenges of supply meeting every growing demand for online sampling and research.
Sandy attended Chapman University, where she received her BA in Communications.
Through 15+ years of experience in the industry, Brittany Nicols has honed her proficiency in nearly every stage of the research journey. She has held leadership positions both as a buyer of research and as a provider, allowing her a deep understanding of what clients are looking for in a partner, and what it takes to execute successful research projects. Her specialties include sales operations leadership, sample best practices, survey design, custom panel development for both quant/qual research, and product innovation and automation.
As the VP, Marketing & Communications at InnovateMR, Brittany wears many hats essential to the daily function of the business. She is responsible for developing and executing the global marketing strategy through the creation of impactful marketing campaigns/materials, maintains brand standards and ensures compliance across all marketing and communications channels, and bridges the gap between marketing and sales in order to cultivate long-term relationships with clients. Prior to her leadership role in the marketing department, she served as VP, Sales Ops & Corporate Training consulting with and providing a customer-centric experience to all clients, both internal and external. Additionally, she has served as AVP, Global Bid Management & Supply, furthering her passion for relationship building and client-obsessed mindset.
She is dedicated to the personal and professional success of every InnovateMR team member and, as such, has created and manages InnovateMR University focused on onboarding, training plans, and career development for each department. She also shares her knowledge and expertise with the wider industry as a Women in Research Mentor, and is especially passionate about helping young professionals develop their careers. She is a published thought leader in the insights industry, contributing research-on-research to the advancement of social issues such as Imposter Syndrome.
Brittany is a diversity and equity champion, and leads the InnovateMR: Voices of Inclusion group dedicated to advancing workplace culture and inclusivity. She is fiercely dedicated to advocating for diverse leadership and fostering strong cross-culture communication.
Jeff Gerken has been in the market research industry for over 15 years and has an extensive track record of cultivating strategic partnerships, sales leadership, and client engagement experience. He is an expert in online quantitative solutions, programmatic sample, DIY purchasing tools, and custom insight tools, which empower faster answers for his clients. As the VP, Head of Global Sales at InnovateMR, Jeff works to build strong sales teams to work together and evolve with the always-changing MR industry. Jeff has spent the better part of his career working in the APAC region, mainly in Japan and China, and brings a special set of skills to InnovateMR that help combat growing quality concerns in the industry. Jeff is fluent in Japanese, and this has allowed him to see firsthand how click farms and panel farms are creating havoc in the market research industry. These experiences have allowed him to help educate clients on what to look for and how to potentially avoid “fraudsters” in their research.
In 2021, the Jeff and InnovateMR team launched the Vision Suite™, a collection of next-generation products aimed at streamlining the research workflow for clients. This includes survey building, sample integration, and customizable quality metrics. Prior to joining InnovateMR, Jeff had the opportunity to work for many of the top sampling and platform companies in the MR industry. Outside of work, Jeff has coached everything from youth sports programs to professional athletes. It is from all these experiences that he has been able to pull together a successful system that builds team camaraderie and instills confidence in his clients that InnovateMR will get the job done right.
Anthony has over 20 years of experience in varied financial roles across a broad range of companies and industries, including professional services, motion picture entertainment, equipment rental and distribution. Anthony’s early career was shaped by serving clients of Deloitte and a boutique CPA firm where he primarily worked with and advised emerging and middle market companies.
As VP, Finance at InnovateMR, Anthony has full stewardship over all financial aspects of the company including accounting, internal controls, financial reporting, budgeting, payroll administration, and cost controls. He oversees employee benefit plans, payroll, insurance matters and ensures the overall financial stability of the company. He also advises the executive team and Board of Directors on the best strategic decisions to scale the organization’s future growth with cash forecasts and manages the corporate credit facility.
He has worked at organizations such as Deloitte, Walt Disney Studios, and Panavision, overseeing global teams, financial operations, and multi-site reporting. He is highly skilled in multiple financial reporting systems and co-designed/implemented a new revenue reporting system in Hyperion. Just prior to joining InnovateMR, Anthony served as the corporate controller for closely-held middle market companies including TKO Electronics, where he negotiated and administered an asset-based loan, successfully launched a new HRIS platform, and integrated the reporting systems of a newly acquired strategic partner.
Anthony is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his BS degree in Business from California State University Northridge.
The Board of Directors
Lisa Wilding-Brown has been in the industry for nearly 20 years. Lisa’s specialties include executive business leadership, product innovation, sampling and survey design, panel development and management, online and mobile recruitment as well as full service mixed-mode field management across a multitude of industry sectors. As Chief Executive Officer at InnovateMR, Lisa has a passion for building strong relationships and a relentless mission to drive innovation and efficiency. Lisa and the InnovateMR executive team deliver transformational research strategies for their clients by harnessing the power of technology-enabled solutions that accelerate and activate insights for agencies and brands alike. In 2021, Lisa and the InnovateMR team launched the Vision Suite, a fully integrated and hyper-intuitive research platform that allows market researchers and marketing professionals the autonomy to conduct high quality research; expediting the insights journey and answering the resounding call for democratized and accessible insights.
Prior to joining Innovate, Lisa was a member of the executive team at uSamp where she developed the company’s global panel and led the firm’s mobile business division. Lisa got her start in insights at Harris Interactive, where she played an instrumental role in developing the company’s first full-service online project management practice. Lisa later joined the panel team, focusing her efforts on research-on-research, survey methodology, specialty panel development and online user engagement for the Harris Poll Online.
Lisa serves on the board for both the MMRA and UTA’s Master of Science in Marketing Research and she is an active contributor to WIRexec, the Women-in-Research mentorship program and the Global Research Business Network. Lisa is a widely sought after global speaker and she has presented at such conferences as AAPOR, ESOMAR, the MRMW North America and Europe, The MRS, The Insights Association, IIEX, SampleCon and she has published research related to business transformation, operational efficiency, data privacy, multicultural insights, participant engagement, online survey design, fraud mitigation and mobile best practices.
Wilding-Brown is a founding member of the Multicultural Insights Collective, an inaugural member of the Insights Association’s Laureate Program, nominated Insights Top 250 industry leader list, a recipient of the Global Research Business Network’s Participant Excellence Program and an elected member of the ESOMAR Global Council 2021-2023. Lisa attended the State University of New York at Geneseo where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double BA in International Relations and Communication with minors in Political Science & History. Lisa also attended the University College Dublin where she pursued Graduate Studies in Politics & History.
Doug Potters
Board Member
Doug joined CIVC in 2011 and has completed transactions in the business services industry. Doug is a director of StoneRidge Insurance and Magna Legal Services. He works closely with KPA Services and was formerly a director of GPRS, Yellowstone Landscape and Equipment Transport. Prior to joining CIVC, Doug was an Associate with AEA Investors where he focused on investments in the industrial and consumer products sectors. Prior to AEA, Doug was a consultant with L.E.K. Consulting where he worked with corporate and private equity clients on a variety of strategic projects. Doug received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Brian James
Board Member
Brian joined CIVC in 2017 and is focused on new investment opportunities and working with portfolio companies. Brian was formerly a director of Specialized Elevator. Prior to CIVC, Brian was a Vice President with H.I.G. Capital in Boston. Prior to H.I.G., Brian was an Associate with CIVC and an Analyst at JPMorgan. Brian received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Steve LaFrance
Board Member
Steve joined CIVC in 2021 and is focused on new investment opportunities and working with portfolio companies. Prior to CIVC, Steve was an Associate at AVALT, where he invested in business and consumer services companies. Previously, he worked as a consultant at Bain & Company. He also has experience owning and operating a service business. Steve graduated cum laude from Boston College, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting.
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