 
|
President
David Van Nuys, Ph.D.
For more than 20 years, David Van Nuys has specialized in providing qualitative research to a wide variety of industries. He brings with him a blend of training and background experiences which combine to make his work uniquely effective.
- A one-time electrical engineering student, David has had a long-standing interest and expertise in technology. As someone who is both a computer hobbyist and who has taught university-level computer science courses, he has a unique ability to deal with highly technical subjects in an unusually clear way. Having followed the personal computer industry since its inception, having been a project manager on scores of high-tech and emerging technology projects, and having moderated hundreds of focus groups on topics related to all phases of technology, David has an unrivalled overview and historical perspective on not only the computer industry but also telecommunications, video games, hardware, softwarre, storage systems, peripherals, and so on.
David's skills are not only technical. He is, even more importantly, a "people" person. A professional psychologist, David has extensive training and experience in such areas as organizational development, group dynamics, and psychotherapy. Having led groups of one sort or another all his professional life, he is good both at creating a supportive atmosphere and at "cutting through the bull" to get at key issues.
David is a superb writer. His reports consistently win kudos from clients for their clarity, focus, and readability. In fact, his first job was as an advertising copywriter, where he not only honed his writing skills but also learned a marketing perspective. For a time, he was a syndicated columnist and he has also published an extensive collection of articles and reviews in both professional and non-professional periodicals.
David attended the University of Pennsylvania on a full scholarship, where he received a B.A. in creative writing. From there, he went on to earn an M.A. in experimental psychology at the University of Montana. Finally, he took a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan. He has taught at a number of universities and recently retired with the rank of Full Professor in the California State University system, where he also served as Chair of the Psychology Department. He has been cited in Who's Who in California and Who's Who in The West.
David has also been actively involved with QRCA (The Qualitative Research Consultants Association), having served on the Board of Directors for three years, as well as a number of committees. For several years, he was Technical Features Editor for the association's award-winning, quarterly magazine, Views. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief.
With a worldwide audience, David also hosts a popular podcast series, Shrink Rap Radio, in which he interviews other interesting psychologists. He also produces a market research podcast for QRCA.
In summary, this set of experiences and aptitudes leads to the unique and powerful synthesis that constitutes David's research work, today.
Partners
John Pagliaro
John Pagliaro is a nationally recognized marketing and branding expert with 25+ years experience managing technology, B2B and B2C programs for companies ranging from early-stage startups to global, Fortune 100 corporations. John's expertise lies in providing marketing and business development consulting. He develops comprehensive business and marketing plans; corporate and product positioning strategies; marketing communications and brand development; and direct and indirect sales support programs. John founded and grew a marketing and advertising firm, Pagliaro/Kuhlman, to one of the largest, most respected agencies in Silicon Valley. As that agency’s Chairman and CEO, John actively directed the strategic planning, execution and executive management of all client programs. Clients included: AT&T, Boeing, CF Motorfreight, Coherent, Heritage Bank, Memorex, NCR, NetManage, San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum, San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau, SJ Tech Museum, Siemens, SyQuest, Toshiba and many more. John sold that business in 1999.
Anujit Mukherjee, Ph.D.
Anujit is the consummate
Market Research Project Manager with extensive experience in consumer
and customer research focused on New Product Development,
and has been instrumental in spearheading hi-tech
business growth. In addition to Market Research methodologies that
span the range of Quantitative and Qualitative, Anujit has a deep and
well-rounded expertise in synthesizing research results to drive Product,
Market and Business Strategies. Although much of his work has been US-based,
he also has led International Market Research projects
aimed at determining cultural contributors to product features and product
branding in Europe, India and Japan. Currently he consults for
small and medium sized companies with focus on Consumer Needs, Emerging
Market Strategies, Organization Planning, Business Planning and Technology
Planning.
In his twenty-one years at Eastman Kodak Company,
he has innovated new technologies, executed cutting edge global consumer
research and customer research, and held a variety of senior positions
in Marketing, Business Development, Product Strategy and Program Management.
He believes that clients are best served when a researcher stays true
to the basic tenets of market research i.e. research ethics, value of
the knowledge and implementation of the recommendations.He has an MBA
in Marketing and Finance, a PhD in Physics and a PMP certification.
Dale S. Ironson, Ph.D.
Dale Ironson's research work is rooted in his years of experience in organization development and executive training at such hi-tech firms as Advanced Micro Devices and Oracle. He has particular expertise in leading corporate visioning sessions and in understanding corporate environments. Dale did his bachelor's work at Cornell, his M.A. at Ohio State, and went on to complete his doctorate at the Saybrook Institute in San Francisco.
Kira Van Nuys - Martin
Kira has a strong sales and marketing background, having worked in insurance, the car rental business, and pharmaceuticals (most recently for Bristol Myers Squibb). Kira is also an experienced research analyst and report writer. She received her B.A. in Communiactions from Sonoma State University.
Associates
Matt Towers
Matt Towers is a highly experienced researcher who works in both traditional face-to-face and online methodologies. His particular expertise focuses on high-technology product development, interface design, and usability testing. During his career he has worked as in-house researcher, independent consultant, and has also run his own research company. His clients have included Adobe, Broderbund, Oracle, and IBM among others.
Rose Marie Garcia Fontana, Ph.D.
Rose Marie has over 16 years of experience in General and Hispanic Market Research as a focus group moderator, interviewer and ethnographer. Rose Marie is a former educator and obtained her Ph.D. from Stanford University’s School of Education, in Language, Literacy and Culture. A native speaker of Spanish, her bilingual and bicultural skills are excellent, and she is capable of delivering coherent, concise information and reports in either language. She is exceptionally skillful in engaging research respondents, especially women and children, in both formal and informal research settings. Rose Marie has carried out projects for a wide range of clients: national and international consumer product companies and department stores, health maintenance organizations and hospitals, school districts and universities, community non-profit agencies, federal and state social services agencies, and English and Spanish language television networks. In addition to her qualitative research activities, Rose Marie has worked closely with ad agencies and public relations firms in developing branding positions, as well as communication strategies for General Market and Hispanic consumers.
Saul Eisen, Ph.D.
Saul
Eisen is not
only a marketing researcher but also a psychologist with a distinguished career
in Organization Development.
He provides
consulting and facilitation to a broad range of organizations in the US and
abroad. His orientation to consulting often integrates strategic planning
and organization development, partnering with clients to develop empowered
individuals, high performing teams, competitive organizations, and thriving
communities.
Saul also facilitates large group conference sessions, bringing together diverse
stake-holders and creating an environment in which they can discover common
ground, develop a shared vision for their desired future, and generate concrete
action plans for implementation.Saul has an MBA from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in
Organizational Behavior from Case-Western Reserve University. He is a member
of the National Organization Development Network, the Bay Area Organization
Development Network and the Socio-Technic Systems Roundtable. Saul is fluent
in both English and Spanish.
William
G. Eaton, M.B.A.
Bill Eaton has considerable
experience in both qualitative and quantitative research,
functioning most recently as VP
of Marketing for Creative Research Systems.
Over the years, Bill has consulted to a great number of companies by virtue
of various positions he has held, which include: National Chairman, Institute
of Marketing Management, Zimbabwe. Educational Director, South African Marketing
Research Association. Other employers include Unilever, Standard Bank, subsidiaries
of General Electric and General Foods. Executive Director of New Products
Laboratory (1985-1994). Bill also ran
his own research consultancy and software importing firm for a number of years.
Born in Great Britain, Bill studied at University of Strathclyde in Scotland
(B.A. Comm), the Institute of Linguists in England (Spanish), Institute of
Marketing Management in Johannesburg (Statistics Prize), University of Cape
Town (MBA in Human Relations Prize). Bill speaks
fluent French, Spanish and Afrikaans.
Bill is the author of several books and numerous articles published not only
in the U.S. but also in Britain, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. He is a member
of the Sonoma County Home Team Business Development Committee.
Mary Jean Koontz, Ph.D., M.B.A.
An in-depth knowledge of global information sources, qualitative research methods and strategic business consulting enable Mary Jean to help clients create global business and marketing strategies. In addition to her work with e-FocusGroups, Mary Jean teaches Marketing Research and International Business Research at the graduate and undergraduate level at Golden Gate University, where she completed a Ph.D. in Business Administration, with a focus on Marketing in the global e-commerce arena. Mary Jean has past experience running her own successful management consulting firm specializing in global market research, competitive intelligence, and global e-commerce strategy. Her clients included American and Japanese multinational firms, government agencies and non-profit organizations. She speaks Japanese and has worked throughout the world, including Japan, Thailand and West Germany.
Sanford Rosenberg, Ph.D.
Sanford ("Sandy") Rosenberg is a psychologist with twenty years of experience as a media researcher-- working with film, video, and emerging media technologies. Sandy has consulted to a number of producers and studios on a variety of media projects including film, television, and multimedia. He recently served as the chair of the New Media Committee of the American Psychological Association's Division of Media Psychology. Sandy specializes in the evaluation of the relationship between story, structure, symbol, image and emotion. Sandy completed received his Ph.D. from the Saybrook Institute in San Francisco.
