Led team during a period of corporate-wide restructuring. Included in strategic decisions and collaboration with senior leadership that identified research projects in support of product development, marketing, and product management. My team of researchers enlisted an innovative combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to uncover customer needs, identify future trends, mitigate risk, identify market opportunities, and explore topics to position Herman Miller as the industry’s thought leader.Created a road map for development a global research team across multiple brands. Included adjunct team members in multiple geographies and the development of an insights platform to share knowledge across Herman Miller’s family of companies. Instrumental in the adoption of neuroscience methodologies within the research programs. Studied employee focus and distraction and the use of virtual reality and neuroscience to determine how people perceive physical spaces and its link to productivity. Created a technology tracker to keep senior management aware of emerging technologies. A version of the Gartner Hype Cycle.Expert in customer experience, customer voice, and gathering customer insights in support of new product development. Annually led 50+ customer interactions with customers from around the globe, helping to understand their motivations and needs. Bi-annually led an Elite Client Program that gathered Herman Miller’s largest customers to share experiences and new product initiatives. Responsible for content, hosting, and presenting of new products and Herman Miller’s point of view on research. Global qualitative and quantitative research experience o Surveys worldwide in multiple languages o Focus groups, ethnography, journey maps, and customer visits in the United States, England, China, India, Mexico, Canada, Singapore, and Australia.

Designed, directed, and implemented research in support of product development for hundreds of award-winning products from concept through introduction, many resulting in multi-million dollar sales. Projects helped cross-functional teams understand the risks associated with their specific programs and determine the best research methodologies to address those. Deeply involved in the company’s strategic research initiatives, many of which became customer-facing presentations, which informed marketing initiatives, sales presentations, and Continuing Education Units. Developed program that gathered feedback from dealer/sales channels that informed new product development.Created quantitative and qualitative methodology and assembled a team for a three-year longitudinal, international research study connecting physical space attributes and organizational performance.

Oversaw and conducted research in support of product development. Typically utilizing a mixed method approach with quantitative and qualitative methodologies.