Our Analysts & Experts

Sara Al-Tukhaim
Executive Vice President, Knowledge Team

Sara leads omnicommerce insights and operations across Kantar's team of retail and shopper analysts. Across the team, she focuses on driving actionable, innovative, and data-driven thought leadership through signature events and other interactive platforms, syndicated content, and more tailored advisory services. With more than a decade of research and consulting experience, Sara offers retail expertise that cuts across global markets and retailers, channels and formats, shoppers and consumers, merchandising and seasonal innovations, and online and offline industry disrupters. She has been cited in the national, international, and trade press, including Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, the NRF’s STORES magazine, Adweek, and NPR. Sara earned an M.S. in applied communication research from Boston University and a B.A. in mass communication and journalism focused on media analysis and criticism from Arizona State University.

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Christina Anderson
Senior Director, eCommerce & Omnichannel

Christina is Senior Director of eCommerce & Omnichannel on the Kantar team. Before joining Kantar, Christina worked at an eCommerce data and software firm where she partnered with global manufacturers on eCommerce performance optimization, eCommerce data and reporting integration, and global structure and strategy best practices. She also has a fundamental understanding of the technology stack involved in operationalizing eCommerce, particularly from a content management perspective. Christina graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in business administration.

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Ben Antenore
Analyst

Ben supports drug channel research at Kantar. As an intern at Kantar, Ben also covered the drug channel, researching and creating syndicated content on CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens Boots Alliance. He graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University in 2017 with a B.A. in political science and peace & conflict studies.

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Timothy Campbell
Principal Analyst

Tim leads research and insights for Kantar’s club channel coverage. He is responsible for developing syndicated content, hosting event presentations, and delivering custom work related to the three major U.S. club retailers: Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale. He also coordinates coverage for Walmart International in addition to providing topical support for private label and more general brick-and-mortar retail insights. He has been cited by NPR, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and other media outlets. Tim joined Kantar in December 2013. He holds a B.A. in economics and political science from Gordon College.

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Anusha Couttigane
Principal Analyst

Listed as one of Drapers 30 Under 30 Rising Stars of the Fashion Industry for 2018, Anusha is one of Kantar’s leading experts in fashion, covering everything from cut-price clothing to luxury labels. Leading a new vertical in Kantar’s consulting practice, Anusha tracks all the latest trends in fashion, from mass market offerings to luxury strategies. Her expertise extends to digital drivers, clicks-to-bricks strategies, new routes to market, and artificial intelligence in fashion retailing. Before joining Kantar, Anusha was senior fashion analyst at Verdict Retail (formerly Conlumino) where she led its U.K. research across the clothing and footwear, health and beauty, and jewelry and watches sectors. A regular on the fashion circuit, Anusha is routinely quoted in the press and is often enlisted as an expert commentator by broadcast media. Anusha holds a degree in English and history from the University of Oxford, where she wrote her thesis on Dior.

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Rachel Dalton
Director, eCommerce/Omnichannel

Rachel leads eCommerce content and insights development for Kantar Retail IQ and Kantar events with a focus on Amazon and forecasting. She has a background in brand and global business management from her work leading strategic planning, new product development, and marketing initiatives across several CPG brands and categories. Rachel holds a B.A. from Connecticut College and an MBA from Cornell University.

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Caroline Dumas
Analyst

Caroline is an Analyst on the Shopper Insights team, contributing to content creation and analyzing ShopperScape® data for clients. Prior to joining Kantar in 2018, Caroline worked for a custom research firm executing and managing quantitative and qualitative research for clients. Caroline earned a B.B.A. in marketing from Georgia College and State University in 2016 and a master’s in marketing research from the University of Georgia in 2017.

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Clara Elbaz
Senior Analyst

Clara is a senior analyst on the Market Insights team based in London, covering big-box grocery retail in France with an emphasis on Carrefour. Before joining Kantar, Clara was an analyst at an eCommerce software and data firm, helping global CPG clients achieve strong eCommerce performance. Her focus areas included online category management, online path to purchase, e-content, and eCommerce success factors. She also completed an internship as a consumer and market insight analyst at Procter & Gamble in Switzerland, working on consumer and in-store shopper behavior in the personal care category. Clara holds a master’s degree in marketing and market research from Sciences Po (the Paris Institute of Political Studies) and a B.A. in business administration from Babson College.

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Karolina Fiedler
Global Data Manager

Karolina manages Kantar’s global database of more than 1,200 retailers. She coordinates analyst and data team communication and workflows, ensures overall data and forecast quality, and is responsible for the publication of various data reports and retailer rankings. As a part of the London-based Market Insights team, Karolina also researches and publishes insights on European retail with specific coverage of Metro Group, where she worked as a financial analyst. Karolina frequently participates in research projects that cover the evolution of EMEA retail and that size and identify fast-growth retail channels in developed and emerging markets. Karolina holds a master’s degree in finance and accounting.

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Desiree Fung
Director, Strategic Advisory Services and Client Development

Desiree leads advisory services in EMEA, designing custom research solutions to address specific business challenges across the FMCG, retail, and professional services sectors. She also manages the development of strategic partnerships with some of KR's largest clients in EMEA. Desiree has a strong background in market research, retail insights, and business strategy. She brings a wealth of FMCG experience and international perspectives, having worked in multiple roles for multinationals such as Coca-Cola FEMSA and Kraft Foods in multiple countries across the Americas and Europe. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, France.

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Ray Gaul
Senior Vice President of European Retail Insights

Based in London, Ray is an expert in global retail trends. He typically works with clients looking to understand how retail is changing across multiple countries and continents. He currently focuses on pan-European retail topics, such as the success and expansion of grocery discounters, the rise of buying groups in Europe, and M&A activities among big retailers. Ray also sits on Kantar’s global center of excellence for eCommerce. In addition, Ray leads Kantar’s dedicated forecasting teams that provide clients with future views to aid in key channel/account planning. Ray joined Kantar in 2000 having worked previously in Ukraine for three years. He holds a B.A. in economics and an M.A. in international relations with a focus on international economic policy.

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Bryan Gildenberg
Chief Knowledge Officer

A world-renowned expert in retail insight, Bryan is Kantar’s Chief Knowledge Officer and a member of the company’s executive leadership team. He is responsible for the company’s analysis and insight, fueling Kantar’s content with in-depth knowledge and intuitive skills few can match. Additionally, Bryan provides a clear, dynamic, and always-topical focus on a variety of channels and retailers around the world. His perspective has been featured on broadcast media such as CNBC, Fox Business, and the BBC, and he is frequently cited in a range of U.S. and global business publications. An award-winning writer, Bryan has authored numerous articles for Kantar publications and third-party periodicals such as The Hub and GMA Forum. An engaging speaker, Bryan has addressed numerous Kantar forums and industry conferences. Bryan earned an MBA summa cum laude from Babson College and an undergraduate degree from Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.

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Reid Greenberg
Executive Vice President

Reid leads Kantar’s global eCommerce and digital advisory business. He has an extensive background in Amazon first- and third-party strategies, pure-play online retailers, eCommerce efforts of more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, multichannel best practices, digital path to purchase, emerging digital/eCommerce trends, and the evolving impact of the connected omnichannel shopper. Reid’s opinions and commentaries have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Chief Information Officer, and other media banners. He was recently named one of the top eCommerce influencers to follow by Prisync.com. Reid has over 20 years of experience in a variety of senior eCommerce, digital, marketing, and leadership roles at companies such as eBay, Keurig Green Mountain, and Seventh Generation. Most recently, Reid served as president/CEO of Vermont’s Original, the 120-year-old manufacturer of the iconic Bag Balm brand of skin care.

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Tory Gundelach
Vice President

Tory leads Kantar’s insights for Target and the grocery channel. She has a rich background in retail that helps her spot emerging trends and understand both the strategic and tactical implications. Before joining Kantar in 2018, Tory held numerous roles in insights, merchandising, and strategy with 84.51°/dunnhumby and Target. She holds an MBA and a bachelor of science in business from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

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Derya Guvenc
Principal Analyst

Derya is a principal analyst on the Kantar Market Insights team in London. She covers big-box and small-box grocery retail in the EMEA region, with a significant emphasis on the convenience channel and the U.K.’s Big Four retailers (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons). Her current areas of focus are channel blurring, store transformation, micro retail, and the future of shopper missions. Before Kantar, Derya covered the Central and Eastern European grocery market, with a strong focus on Russia, Turkey, and Poland. Before moving to London in 2012, Derya spent three years in retail market research in Istanbul. She holds a B.A. in economics from Boğaziçi University in Turkey and an M.A. in development studies from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands.

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Chris Harkin
Director of Advisory Services

As director of advisory services, Chris is responsible for leading, managing, and working with our European retail analysts to deliver bespoke insights for clients across the FMCG, retail, and professional services sectors. He works with clients to uncover new growth opportunities through new routes-to-consumer strategies, size-of-prize assessments, channel segmentation exercises, and other initiatives. He holds a first-class bachelor’s degree in industrial design and engineering from Brunel University London.

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Doug Hermanson
Principal Economist

Doug specializes in data management, forecasting, and applied economics for the economist and home improvement teams. He contributes economic, retail, and consumer insights through customized research, presentations, and syndicated publications. He is also a key developer of the econometric models and methodologies used in the channel, category, and country-level retail market forecasts produced at Kantar. He holds an M.S. in economics from The Ohio State University where he developed research on regional retail market development and financial commodity markets.

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Tiffany Hogan
Senior Analyst

Tiffany leads Kantar’s research on U.S. apparel retailers, such as Macy’s and Nordstrom, tracks disruptive new retailers such as Primark and Stitch Fix, and monitors the apparel industry at large. She is also assisting with the launch of Kantar’s drug channel coverage in the EMEA market. Before joining Kantar in 2014, Tiffany worked in merchandising and store planning at Limited Stores.

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Simon Johnstone
Director

Simon Johnstone is a director on the Kantar Market Insights team based in Boston. He focuses on in-depth coverage of the discounter and convenience channels, including global coverage of Lidl and Aldi. Simon holds a B.A. in German from Royal Holloway University of London.

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Vadim Khetsuriani
Director, Central and Eastern Europe

Based in Moscow, Vadim leads Kantar insights on Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia and emerging modern retail markets. He helps FMCG clients understand the implications of the fast-changing retail landscape and the consolidation and rise of hybrid retail channels that are disrupting established segmentation and distribution strategies. Since 2008, Vadim has led Kantar’s consulting practice in Russia and Central Europe with a special focus on suppliers’ organizational capability development, annual strategic planning for key accounts, and preparing for negotiations with top retail customers. He also supports Kantar forecasting teams with analysis and forward-looking insights into leading Russian and Eastern European retailers. Vadim joined Kantar in the U.S. in 2000 before relocating to London in 2006 and Moscow in 2008. He holds as a B.S. in business administration from Boston University and an MBA in strategic market management from Babson College.

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Howard Lake
Senior Content Manager

Howard is senior content manager on the Kantar Market Insights team in London, responsible for overseeing content outputs across the EMEA team. Prior to Kantar, he held a senior editorial role at leading global retail analyst specialists. He also has extensive experience in print and digital publishing. While possessing a wide global retail knowledge base, his specialist interests include Asian eCommerce, omnichannel growth, and developing markets. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Winchester.

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Harriet Leach
Senior Analyst

Harriet is a senior analyst in Kantar’s eCommerce and digital practice based in London. Her focus is on the European online channel, analyzing digital and eCommerce trends and developing actionable insights through syndicated content, global events, and advisory. She focuses on Amazon and Alibaba strategy, as well as on disruptive players in new markets, online category management, and online brand strategy for FMCG clients. First joining Kantar as a graduate, Harriet worked on shopper research and on the Market Insights team, later moving into consulting and specializing in go-to-market and category growth strategy. Harriet holds a distinction in MRS market research and a B.A. in history and politics with honors from the University of Leicester.

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Jim Leonard
Senior Vice President, Strategic Advisory Services

Jim leads Kantar's custom and applied research solutions and facilitates training and planning for key clients around the globe. He works with Kantar's analyst teams as well as thought leaders from WPP's sister companies to create and apply market assessment and growth strategies for CPG/FMCG clients and select retailers. Jim brings a strong background in benchmarking work and translating best practices into actionable insight for manufacturers, retailers, and activation agencies. He also creates skill-building and case-based training solutions to improve capabilities and planning effectiveness. Jim previously served as commercial manager and editor of Kantar's online and print publications. His background includes product development and content syndication, classroom training, publishing, and database marketing. Before joining Kantar, Jim worked for a research and marketing firm and a multinational business publisher. He has also served as an adjunct university instructor. Jim holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Boston College.

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David Marcotte
Senior Vice President

David leads Kantar’s insight into and vision for the current and future state of international retail, technology, and complex retail processes. He is an experienced leader of international teams, a veteran industry strategic consultant, and architect of retailer solutions. Before joining Kantar, David worked at IBM serving as Business Intelligence lead for Retail and CPG, advising retail clients on POS infrastructure, merchandising, loyalty programs, IT design, loss prevention, supply chain, and data modeling. Prior to working at IBM, David spent 20 years in retail working at every level of responsibility - from the shop floor to executive management within operations. He is a past member of the Efficient Consumer Response Category Management Standards Group and the Association for Retail Technology Standards. In addition, David helped write and edit a variety of publications including "Retailing in Emergent Markets," "Effective Omnichannel Pricing," "Retail 2020," and "The Data Warehouse Mentor." Recent Speech on Agile Development for Marketing in Latin America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP5NaHXdlq0

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Paida Mugudubi
Director

Paida drives thought leadership on FMCG retailing with a particular focus on grocery and health and beauty. She focuses on insights that deliver a positive impact on both the top and bottom line. Before joining Kantar, Paida worked for a global FMCG manufacturer, initially heading strategy and planning for the U.K., Ireland, and Channel Islands markets and then the global travel retail business. She has also worked in global and regional consulting roles covering consumer, shopper, and retail insights across a broad range of FMCG categories. Paida holds an MSc in strategic management from the University of Bath.

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Ivana Nikolic
Senior Director, Strategic Advisory Services

Ivana builds custom research solutions and advisory services powered by Kantar’s syndicated data, insights, and expertise. She’s a technical expert in the selling process, creating product marketing collateral and sales toolkits to drive our eCommerce and digital offers, as well as managing key client relationships through ongoing research/training programs and retainers. Ivana brings a strong background in secondary and primary market research, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and project management. Before joining Kantar, Ivana was a senior consultant at a consumer research and consulting firm in Boston. Ivana holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

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Brian Owens
Senior Vice President

Brian leads Kantar’s syndicated health and wellness and drug channel research. Before joining Kantar, Brian held a variety of senior leadership positions in trade marketing, account management, purchasing, and finance at Reckitt Benckiser, Procter & Gamble, and Gillette. In those roles, he worked with a broad range of retailers in the mass, dollar, and drug channels. Brian has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Women’s Wear Daily, Chain Drug News, and on NPR. An expert on health and wellness, he has addressed the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Brian earned an MBA from the George Washington University School of Business and a B.A. from Colgate University.

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Himanshu Pal
Principal Consultant, Kantar Middle East North Africa

Himanshu is Principal Consultant at Kantar’s Retail, Sales & Shopper practice. Based out of Dubai, he is responsible for delivering client projects around go-to-market strategy, business planning, commercial negotiations, and shopper and trade marketing in the Middle East, Turkey, and North Africa. Himanshu is also responsible for driving thought leadership on developing and emerging markets of Africa, Middle East, the Sub-Continent, and Southeast Asia. Prior to his current role, Himanshu was Vice President at Kantar’s Market Insights unit in Europe, where he led the practice on big-box (hypermarket and supermarket), convenience, and drug retailing; as well as being a subject matter expert on key global customers, such as Carrefour, Tesco, and Auchan. Himanshu is a frequent commentator on retail issues for the media and a key speaker at Kantar’s events and other trade conferences. He holds master’s degrees in business administration and finance.

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Kelly Petropoulou
Analyst

Kelly is an analyst on the Market Insights team based in London, mainly covering health and beauty and fashion through syndicated content and advisory work. She first joined Kantar as a graduate working with the Market Insights, Shopper Insights, and consulting teams where she focused on category growth strategy, channel landscaping, and shopper behavior. Kelly holds a BSc in psychology from the University of Bath and an MSc in organizational psychology from University College London, where she specialized in consumer behavior.

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Malcolm Pinkerton
Vice President

Based in London, Malcolm leads Kantar’s eCommerce and digital insights practice for Europe. He is responsible for delivering impactful market insights to help clients validate or form their eCommerce and digital strategies. In addition to highlighting future trends and their business implications, his team critically assesses the eCommerce and digital strategies of marketplaces, pure players, and traditional physical retailers to identify best practices and innovation. Malcolm has been analyzing retail and shopper behavior for 15 years. During that time, he has worked with some of the world’s leading retailers and consumer goods manufacturers to develop eCommerce strategies and deal with the disruption caused by the ever-changing omnichannel shopper. He holds a BSc in industrial systems and business management from the University of Westminster.

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Ellie Pinto
Analyst

Ellie is an analyst on Kantar’s grocery team and assists on Canadian grocery, developing syndicated content and insights on emerging trends within the channel. Prior to her grocery channel work, Ellie contributed to Kantar’s organizational performance offer. She also worked as an intern and then full time on Kantar’s Shopper Insights team in 2018. She has experience conducting primary and secondary shopper research and analyzing shopper behavior and attitudes. Ellie has a B.A. from Hamilton College with a major in economics and a double minor in anthropology and sociology.

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Amar Singh
Senior Analyst

Amar is a Senior Analyst, focusing on Canadian retail and eCommerce. He creates insights that inform strategic decisions related to key grocery, mass merchandising, drug, club, and digital channels. Amar is a seasoned brand, shopper, and advertising researcher. Before joining Kantar in 2018, he managed consumer insights at a leading CPG brand in Canada, which included brand management, packaging optimization, and product innovation. Amar has an MSc in marketing and consumer studies from the University of Guelph.

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Todd Szahun
Senior Vice President

Todd leads the eCommerce and new retail insights team. Before joining Kantar, Todd held simultaneous corporate and operational roles within WPP, leading the expansion of practice areas including eCommerce, digital, data strategy, and shopper marketing across many of WPP’s top 50 clients. With deep client expertise in CPG; technology; entertainment; pharmaceuticals; and beer, wine, and spirits, Todd brings a wealth of experience building and deploying end-to-end marketing activities, including research, activation, amplification and measurement, that enable a broad view of what works across channels and sectors. Todd holds a B.A. in political science and an MBA with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. He is a published author, frequent speaker at industry events, and startup adviser.

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Liz Thayer
Senior Analyst

Liz is a senior analyst on Kantar’s Market Insights team based in Boston. She is responsible for developing syndicated content, delivering event presentations and custom work for the convenience channel, and researching and tracking developments in the cannabis market. Before joining the Insights team, Liz managed client engagement for Kantar’s Perfect Category offering. She graduated from Cornell University in 2018 with a B.S. in food science.

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Jill Trefz
Shopper Research Manager

As a member of the Shopper Insights team, Jill develops and manages the monthly ShopperScape® survey and periodic deep-dive surveys. Before joining Kantar in 2019, Jill was a market research analyst for a private label credit card provider whose clients included specialty apparel, beauty, and home goods retailers. Jill earned an MBA in marketing and a B.S. in fashion merchandising from The Ohio State University.

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Juliana Vivas-Avila
Senior Project Manager, Advisory Services

Juliana is a senior project manager in our London office, responsible for managing and delivering bespoke research projects within our Advisory Services team. She has considerable experience leveraging syndicated data and qualitative and quantitative market research methodologies to help global FMCG suppliers identify actionable insights they can use to develop and align their marketing, retail, and new product development strategies. Before joining Kantar, Juliana was an innovation consultant, leading projects on consumer trends, product development, and category white-space opportunities. Juliana holds an MSc in business management and innovation from Imperial College Business School in London and a B.A. with honors in industrial design from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia.

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Mary Brett Whitfield
Senior Vice President

Mary Brett leads the shopper insights research and content development team for Kantar and also directs development of the company’s apparel retailing content. Mary Brett has extensive experience helping retailers and suppliers leverage shopper insights and other primary research data for performance improvement. She has worked at retail companies in market research, strategic planning, and sales development roles and has a strong background in industry and company analysis and competitive positioning work. Mary Brett earned a B.A. in economics from Smith College and an MBA from the University of Oklahoma.

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