Joaquim Bretcha named Interim Director General

ESOMAR today announced that Joaquim Bretcha will take on the role of Interim Director General starting immediately as Pravin Shekar’s three-month term in the role concludes. A long-time Council member and former President of ESOMAR, Bretcha will draw on his deep experience in the data, insights and market research industry in this position. With a commitment to building bridges and collaboration, he will act as statutory director of the organization, working closely with the leadership team and reporting directly to the ESOMAR President. 

ESOMAR President, Kristin Luck, said, “On behalf of Council, I am thrilled to welcome Joaquim as ESOMAR’s Interim Director General. His deep internal knowledge of ESOMAR as a Council member and past-President, plus his amazing depth of experience in the global market research industry, will help us continue to meet the changing needs of our member base around the world. I would also like to extend Council’s thanks to outgoing Interim Director General, Pravin Shekar, for his guidance and steady hand over the past three months as we navigated a number of leadership changes.”

Bretcha’s career has been focused on the market research and retail industries. For the last 13 years he has expanded worldwide the digital data collector Netquest, having previously served at Synovate and Kantar. In the retail industry he has held marketing leadership roles at Auchan and Carrefour Spain. A frequent speaker in the insights industry, he’s traveled the world of market research events and conferences for the last 12 years. 

Currently, in addition to his new role with ESOMAR, Bretcha is: co-founder and member of the board for Health Us Nepal, which brings health assistance to the remote villages of Nepal; Board Member for Cecot, a multi-sector business association, and a Member of the Advisory Board of the neuroscience platform MINDPROBER. He is the creator of the podcast “People, Data & Insights”, which focuses on the Spanish speaking insights community. He is an economist from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and has a postgraduate degree in Business from IESE.

Bretcha said, “I’d like to thank President Kristin Luck, Vice President Nikki Lavoie and Council for their trust in naming me to this role. I am very excited to use my experience to contribute to the success of ESOMAR. I believe that ESOMAR belongs to its members, who express their desire to elevate the institution and properly serve the needs our industry faces. This will be my focus along with the professional team and the incoming President and Council.” 

Highly involved with ESOMAR for many years, Bretcha was an elected Council member for two consecutive terms from 2015 through 2018. In January 2019, he was elected as ESOMAR President, and has served most recently as President Ex-Officio. As Interim Director General, he brings expertise in networking, collaboration and connection with the international market research community and deep knowledge of all latest developments in the industry.