Outstanding Contribution Awards

Phyllis Macfarlane has worked in Market Research throughout her career, managing GfK’s UK company, focusing personally on international and B2B research, and always interested in the global development of the MR industry, and, perhaps more importantly, in the growth of Researchers!

She has spent the last several years working in Global Training in GfK, and most recently on the GfK Verein’s University cooperation programme, setting up post graduate courses and degrees in Africa and China, and supporting Interviewer training in Africa.

She is now expanding that work through the ESOMAR Foundation, via education and also supporting the non-profit sector to use market research best practices more in designing and measuring their aid programmes. She believes that everyone needs market research skills: from the newest small business to top executives in global organisations, and is doing her best to spread the word!  She also believes that there is a huge opportunity for the insights & analytics industry in developing markets to demonstrate new thinking and support both local and international clients with real business know-how.

Currently Chief Executive Officer for the UK-based Archive of Market A research consultant and Managing Director of Real Research, Adam has over 40 years of experience in the industry and has been involved in media measurement, public opinion research, brand development as well as product and pricing research. 

Former Chairman of the ESOMAR Professional Standards and founding Chair of the ESOMAR Legal Affairs Committee, alongside being a past Council Member at ESOMAR. He is also active in the UK where he is a Market Research Society Fellow, past Chairman of the Market Research Society.

He began his career at Unilever and went on to hold senior positions at AGB Nielsen UK, Euroquest, BMRB, Mass-Observation, Research International and Winona Research in the US.

Georges Guelfand is Managing Partner of Happy People Thinking in France, a company specializing in international qualitative studies. A recognized expert in qualitative studies, in October 2013 he obtained by ESOMAR World Research the John Downham Excellence Award for Performance in Market Research.

With his literary, scientific and psychoanalytic training, he was co-founder of Insight, Managing Partner of Ipsos, and Managing Director of Synovate in France. A lecturer at Universities and Business Schools, he is a founding member of the International Centre for Trans-disciplinary Studies and Research. He has published books of poetry, numerous articles in professional journals and two books on creativity groups and projective techniques.

John Smurthwaite is the ESOMAR Ambassador for the Asia Pacific region, which covers 18 countries from NZ in the south to Mongolia in the north, the Philippines in the east and Pakistan in the west. John took on this role after retiring from KANTAR in 2016.

The role of the Ambassador is to work closely with all the ESOMAR representatives in the region as well as link up with the national associations to support your needs in the region. In normal times, John manages ESOMAR Best of Series events as well as assists in the many ESOMAR events in APAC.

John is based in Malaysia and was the President of the Marketing Research Society of Malaysia.

John began his research agency career with an Australian company in Melbourne called Frank Small and Associates, which was later acquired by Sofres/TNS/KANTAR and continued working with the acquiring companies. John transferred to Malaysia in 1977 and then to Hong Kong in 1981 to begin developing Frank Small and Associates throughout the region, developing offices in the Philippines, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and India. John managed the APAC region as TNS CEO/Chairman for many years until his retirement. 

John is a member of ESOMAR  advisory panels and committees such as on Global Market Research and Pricing reports, as well as the Association Executive and Representative committees.

A quiet but powerful leader, Kim and her passion for the market research industry – and its reinvention – have inspired clients, her organizations, and agencies alike for more than 35 years. Hers is a mantra of quality, meaningful innovation, and business impact.

Over the course of her storied 30 years at Procter & Gamble, Kim delivered that impact to countless billion-dollar brands. She was one of the architects of the company’s Consumer & Market Knowledge organization, for which she was the global Vice President for seven years. She galvanized a global account director programme that spanned 13 operating companies at Kantar, where she served as Chair of the Americas.). Kim was awarded ESOMAR's coveted Outstanding Contribution Award in 2009.

David Smith is a Director of DVL Smith. He is also a Professor at the University of Hertfordshire Business School. He holds a PhD in Organisational Psychology from the University of London and is a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.

He is a former Vice President of ESOMAR and also a former Chairman of the UK Market Research Society (MRS).

He is a Fellow of the Market Research Society, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and also a Fellow of the Institute of Consulting. David is a Certified Management Consultant.

Mario van Hamersveld has held leading marketing and research positions with Philips at Corporate and Division level for many years. He has been engaged in a variety of international management, marketing training and development activities and contributed to various international publications. Presented at post-academic programmes (a.o. Wharton, Gent, Erasmus, Delft)

He was Vice -President, President and Director General at Esomar. He was a frequent session leader, speaker and workshop leader. He co-chaired the Release ( Research Leaders Summit 2001-2003) and was in charge of WIN, The World Industry Network 2003 -2005. From 2000-2007 he was editor- in- chief of Research World .Together with Prof.Cees de Bont he authored the 5th edition of ESOMAR's Market Research Handbook.

Over the years he gained experience as a volunteer in a variety of organisations and projects. He served on the board of a large number of not-for-profit organizations and governmental bodies. Founder member of TIAS Marketing College (Tilburg).

He worked with the Dutch professional organisation (MOA) in the "Ombudsteam".Served as Award Committee Chair. He chaired "de rekenkamer -commissie" in Eindhoven, a public auditing function (2003-2011) Was Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CKE and chaired the Steering Group Future Public Library Effort. (2012/13) He was Board Member "Het Paard dat vliegt" (theatre group) and developed "Marketing Intelligence Leadership" programmes with Willem Brethouwer. Member of the editing team of CLOU.