Leading the end-to-end enterprise research business of PureSpectrum in APAC, Lester brings over 22+ years of combined research management roles. He was the former APAC MD of System1 Research, he also served as the Client Solutions Director of SKIM APAC and had various regional roles at Kantar spanning almost 15 years.

He served as a jury member of the 2022 ESOMAR Congress and has been a regular industry paper presenter in the region.

Lester is a graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman and later served as a university lecturer teaching behavioural economics and communication research.

Karen has over 25 years of experience in market research, insights and strategy formulation across ASEAN markets. She commenced her marketing research career with ACNielsen before moving client-side to Citibank, Globe Telecom, The Coca-Cola Company, and currently with Universal Robina Corporation (URC).

At URC Karen is currently Global Consumer & Market Insights Director. Here she is responsible for designing, developing and steering the Consumer & Market Insights function to adapt to the requirements of the business - from an organizational, as well as technical market perspective.

Karen has diverse and extensive research expertise across both qualitative and quantitative methods and their application to business issues. Importantly, she is well known for developing research talent.

James founded MDI (Mobile Digital Insights) in July 2013 after leaving a global digital role at KANTAR. Now operating out of hubs in Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Belgium, Argentina and the United States, MDI has formed a reputation of delivering fast turnaround, action oriented, quality insights reports through its innovative approaches to in-the-moment data collection.

Underpinned by a Bachelor Business Marketing degree from Monash University James' insights career has spanned 30 years.

James has held several global roles including Head of the TNS Global Technology Practice, Global Head of Emerging and Rapid Growth Markets and Global Head of TNS Connect.

James is passionate, inquisitive and pragmatic and these traits underpin his approach to research engagements and MDI's culture.

Nathania is currently a Senior Lead at Quantum Consumer Solutions. She has 7 years of experience in consumer trends and qualitative research.

Before joining Quantum, she held various leadership roles and spearheaded many initiatives at TrendWatching, including developing an online course to help professionals learn about trends and building a global trendspotters community.Her agility and contributions to the industry around trends won her many awards including the Greenbook Future List, Insight 250 and ESOMAR YES Award.

 Nathania holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the National University of Singapore, and graduated on a full ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship.

With 100 talks per year, Tom De Ruyck’s keynotes have inspired marketing and research professionals across the globe to future-proof their way of working. He has spoken in 45 countries and on 6 continents at major business, marketing, technology and consumer insights events. Next to being Managing Partner at InSites Consulting, Tom is a teaching Professor at different business schools in Europe.

He is co-author of 'The Consumer Consulting Board' and published over 80 white papers, articles in academic journals, business books and trade magazines. Tom was awarded for his work many times, amongst others by the American Marketing Association, ESOMAR and the CMO Council USA and Asia. He was elected to ESOMAR Council for the 2021-2022 mandate.

Akiko is an executive officer at VALUES, Japan's leading marketing data analytics company. VALUES is a company that specializes in using the largest scale of unique online behavioral data available in Japan and methods to discover insights. She specializes in building insight discovery methodologies through data analysis and is a leading expert in analyzing customer journeys.

She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing research industry. At her previous company Macromill, an online research company, she managed quantitative and qualitative research and also built a new research service using cell phones.

In 2011, she joined VALUES, and she has been gaining customer journey insights using online behavioral data and has recently been focusing on analyzing global markets outside of Japan.

She was selected as a speaker at ESOMAR Congress 2022 and ESOMAR The Art & Science of Innovation 2023. She is focusing on disseminating insights and analysis methods related to the customer journey as seen through behavioral data analysis to the world.

She has also spoken at numerous marketing seminars in Japan.

 Nicha serves as the Managing Director of Custom Asia Co., Ltd., a boutique marketing research and consultancy firm specializing in consumer insight and branding. With an extensive international background spanning the US, UK, and Southeast Asia, she brings a wealth of experience to the table.

Previously, Nicha refined her skills at Lieberman Research Worldwide (currently known as Material) in Los Angeles, CA, where she managed accounts, including Disney, with precision and expertise.

Her expertise extends to collaborating with leading global brands in Asia Pacific and the US on a range of challenging projects, from new concept and product development to branding and customer engagement.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Nicha is a dedicated scholar, pursuing a Ph.D. in consumer behavior. Her research has been featured in esteemed publications and presented at renowned international conferences, including the Association of Consumer Research and the Society for Consumer Psychology.

Currently, Nicha serves as the President of the Thailand Marketing Research Society, focusing her efforts on emerging areas such as ESG, mindfulness, and the cultivation of Brand Love. In her dedication to advancing the field, she exemplifies how women excel in the research and insight industry.

Tony has been working at Philip Morris International for more than two decades in the Consumer Insights Team, now he serves as the Head of Consumer Insights for the Combustible Category in South and South East Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Middle East and Africa.  In his 26 years of working at Philip Morris International, Tony has gained rich experience through his multi-culture exposure working in various countries.  As a disruptive thinker and innovator, Tony has brought creative ideas, moved those ideas through the organization which help to drive business growth grounded by consumer-centric insights. 

Tony was selected as a speaker of ESOMAR 20th Anniversary Asia Pacific Conference in 2019, and he has been appointed as an Insight 250 jury member since 2022.