Joaquim Bretcha is the Director General of ESOMAR and an Economist at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. As a longstanding member of the ESOMAR Council, he has significantly contributed to the creation and expansion of the International Business Unit at Netquest since 2010. These roles ensure his constant involvement with the international market research community and keep him up-to-date with the latest industry developments.

Previously, Joaquim has held several key positions including Director of Marketing and Purchases at Auchan supermarkets in Spain, Retail Director at Kantar Worldpanel Spain, and Merchandising Director at Carrefour supermarkets in Spain. More recently, he co-founded the NGO "Health us Nepal" which aims to improve healthcare in the remote region of Humla, and he has shared his experiences as a TEDx speaker in England.

Joaquim's motto during his ESOMAR presidency, "Building bridges," reflects his commitment to connecting people and businesses to foster progress. His extensive background defines him as an experienced international manager with expertise in the data, insights, and market research industry. He is a strong business development professional with skills in negotiation, sales, public communication, team engagement, and management.

Marcel joined ESOMAR just before the start of this millenium in November 1999. As his job title already shows, he has multiple caps on at ESOMAR. In his Finance role, Marcel is responsible for looking into the financials as well as the statistics of the current and previous years monitoring the financial health of your community. Marcel analyses these numbers and prepares both a reflection on the past versus current, as well as providing strategic insight into the Management Team and Council at ESOMAR.

In his HR Relations role, his main focus is on the salary administration, secondary employment benefits such as the ESOMAR pension scheme afforded to employees, recruitment of new staff together with the Chief Finance and Operations Officer, and the overall wellbeing of ESOMAR employees to ensure they can continue supporting you.

Marcel is married to a lovely Peruvian lady for more than 20 years, who has enriched his life and values in so many ways. He is a proud father of two boys that have become young adults already.

Senior Manager of Global Event at ESOMAR, has more than 20 years' experience within the global events industry and has worked at ESOMAR for 15 years, leading the events team for the last five.

Originally from Wales, Rhiannon has travelled and lived around the world due to her father's career, settling in Amsterdam 20 years ago.

Angela has worked at ESOMAR since 2005 and has accumulated a great amount of knowledge and respect for the industry in that time.

A graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand with a Bachelors in English, she began her career in the healthcare industry, moving quickly into the retails and Manufacturing environment. She has lived on 3 continents in 4 countries which has afforded a ‘citizen of the world’ perspective to her current position.

Angela can help with all of your business development and marketing needs.

Felix joined ESOMAR in 2010, and is currently in charge of R&D and maintenance of business systems and applications, and overall IT infrastructure. He is responsible for coordinating the maintenance of systems that are core parts of your member benefits such as our Resource Library by ANA and the Directory listing of registered companies.

Nordin has been working at ESOMAR since 2013, taking various positions in the area of finance and business processes. Since the beginning of 2020, he is has been heading the Finance and Member Services departments and brings a wealth of experience implementing business processes and routines.

Nordin is a certified Data Protection Officer certified by the Universiteit Maastricht's European Centre for Cybersecurity and Data Protection.

Gabriela Kusters is responsible for expanding the reach and performance of key marketing initiatives, boosting digital marketing effectiveness and growing organizational awareness around the world. She will apply her skills in all aspects of marketing to create strategies for positive growth.

With her experience, Gaby has the perfect blend in the digital marketing space and isn’t afraid to think outside the box - all while understanding the nuances of working in different regions around the world. Together with her team, Gaby conducts foundational work across all ESOMAR’s digital properties to ensure that outreach efforts are effective, optimized and aligned with organizational goals, values and culture.

Prior to joining ESOMAR in August 2022, Gaby managed marketing for high-tech telecommunications company, and led EMEA marketing programs for the global Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). Gaby holds a Master of Science in Marketing from Brunel University London and received her Bachelor of Science in Communications and Media Studies from HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Senior Manager of Global Event at ESOMAR, has more than 20 years' experience within the global events industry and has worked at ESOMAR for 15 years, leading the events team for the last five.

Originally from Wales, Rhiannon has travelled and lived around the world due to her father's career, settling in Amsterdam 20 years ago.

Stella joined ESOMAR Finance and Accounting department in 2007. She held different positions within the departments over the years.

Stella is a management and accounting major, with a bachelor's degree in International Management and Business from Hogeschool van Amsterdam,
the Netherlands, and a professional accounting qualification from the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting -CIMA the United Kingdom.
Her primary work concern is credit management alongside members relations and retention management.

Stella joyfully extends extra support to the ESOMAR African Members and Interests.

As a Customer Solutions Specialist, Aline is responsible for developing a strong and successful customer journey roadmap, measured by achieving a high standard of customer satisfaction, and delivering relevant and quick solutions towards ESOMAR community and beyond.

Aline currently lives in Amsterdam with her lovely family after previously lived in Indonesia and France. Before joining ESOMAR in 2022, Aline worked 12 years in hospitality and retail industry, where she spent the last 3 years as an Assistant Manager. Her customer oriented and approachable characteristics make her enjoy her role as a part of Member Relations team and the tasks around membership acquisition and retention.

Caroline joined ESOMAR in 2014. As an office manager, Caroline oversees day-to-day office operations, manages support staff, coordinates essential services, and implements systems to maximize efficiency.

Caroline holds a Master of Law from the University of Amsterdam.

In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, dance salsa and going on city trips.

Xabier has been guiding and coordinating the creation of studies, reports and other publications at ESOMAR’s Intelligence Unit since 2018 and now leads the Departments of Professional Standards and Public Affairs. He holds two MSc in International Economics as well as in Marketing from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

His departments provide information and guidance to the industry with documents that include ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Conduct, the Global Market Research report, one of ESOMAR’s most highly regarded member benefit, the Evolution of the Data, Analytics and Insights Industry, ESOMAR’s Global Top Insights Companies ranking and several guidelines to conduct research responsibly.

He has carried out fundamental research to structure the industry through the lattice of research, and created the Insights Market Development Index (IMDI) of countries, which ESOMAR adopted as the backbone for its dynamic pricing model. Originally from Spain, Xabier has been living in the Netherlands for a number of years, is fluent in Spanish and English, has a decent command of Dutch, and loves music about as much as analysis.

Jules van Vlokhoven joined ESOMAR in March 2022 as an intern in the Governmental Affairs and Professional Standards Team. After six months, he became the project coordinator of the GAPS team. In this role, he works on projects such as the Demographics project and the Country Overview page. Jules is from the Netherlands and studied International & European Law in the Hague, where he has developed his knowledge in Data Protection.

Kathy Joe served for many years as Director of International Standards and Public Affairs at ESOMAR before retiring in 2016. She currently still works periodically for ESOMAR as its Editorial Consultant for Research World.

Prior to working for ESOMAR, Kathy worked at The Economist and Euromoney and gained a BSc Hons in Politics and Sociology from the University of Southampton in the UK.

With a passion for research and insights and long experience in working with global teams to formulate editorial content, privacy policies and professional standards, she has worked with research professionals from around the world on far-ranging topics including innovation and best practice in consumer insights, knowledge and strategy.

As ESOMAR Director of International Standards, Kathy led the development and promotion of global research codes and privacy guidelines.

She volunteers for projects with NGOs such as Amnesty International and is a Board Member and Secretary of Dance Connects.

Xabier has been guiding and coordinating the creation of studies, reports and other publications at ESOMAR’s Intelligence Unit since 2018 and now leads the Departments of Professional Standards and Public Affairs. He holds two MSc in International Economics as well as in Marketing from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

His departments provide information and guidance to the industry with documents that include ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Conduct, the Global Market Research report, one of ESOMAR’s most highly regarded member benefit, the Evolution of the Data, Analytics and Insights Industry, ESOMAR’s Global Top Insights Companies ranking and several guidelines to conduct research responsibly.

He has carried out fundamental research to structure the industry through the lattice of research, and created the Insights Market Development Index (IMDI) of countries, which ESOMAR adopted as the backbone for its dynamic pricing model. Originally from Spain, Xabier has been living in the Netherlands for a number of years, is fluent in Spanish and English, has a decent command of Dutch, and loves music about as much as analysis.

Ajitha is Junior Data Analyst at ESOMAR and supports the production of various reports of ESOMAR's Intelligence Unit. She is also responsible for the creation of new reports, articles and initiatives that are aimed at bringing together all Insights professionals (from Market Researchers to Data Analysts), thus bringing in more value to current and future members of ESOMAR.

Ajitha is from India where she did her Integrated Masters in General Economics and worked in Cognizant Technological Services as an Associate for nearly 2 years. She moved to The Netherlands to do her Masters in Behavioural Economics at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. She is fluent in Tamil, English and is working on becoming fluent in Dutch to understand Dutch memes.

Lilas studied Economics and Finance in Italy and did an internship next to her studies at Generali. She was, amongst other activities, responsible for qualitative and quantitative data research, its visualisation, simulation models, and preparing data for presentations for internal and external stakeholders.

She got married and immediately after moved to the Netherlands in December 2021, and worked as Strategy Analyst at Varian for 6 months. 

She has joined ESOMAR March 2023.

Lilas is working on two main fronts: first, to develop, and support the development of, the different reports and studies regularly published by ESOMAR’s Intelligence Unit. Secondly Lilas focus on aggregating materials (such as bundles of academic articles, case studies and videos), internal and/or external, that support the role of ESOMAR as a thought leader that represents the data, analytics and insights industry.

Lilas will be aggregating and consolidating the incoming data during field research, which will ultimately allow for the analysis and write-up of several reports, publications, and other materials.

Nathan is currently an Analytics and Insights Intern at ESOMAR and pursuing a BSc in Econometrics and Data Science at the University of Amsterdam. With plans to start an MSc in Financial Econometrics next year, he has a strong interest in applied mathematics and statistical modeling. Nathan has hands-on experience in data science, data analysis, and student-led consulting, and is actively involved in student associations where he helps organize academic and social events. Originally from the Philippines, he has lived in six countries and brings a diverse, global perspective to his work.

Angela has worked at ESOMAR since 2005 and has accumulated a great amount of knowledge and respect for the industry in that time.

A graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand with a Bachelors in English, she began her career in the healthcare industry, moving quickly into the retails and Manufacturing environment. She has lived on 3 continents in 4 countries which has afforded a ‘citizen of the world’ perspective to her current position.

Angela can help with all of your business development and marketing needs.

Christine joined ESOMAR as the Key Account Executive in 2023. Her passion resides in nurturing global partnerships and driving business growth through sales, sponsorships and exhibitions.

Prior to joining ESOMAR, Christine has worked in five different countries, venturing through industries including Finance, Public Relations, Aviation, and Meetings & Events. Her diverse background and extensive experience empower her to forge genuine connections with people from all over the world.

Riccardo joined ESOMAR as a Key Account Executive in March 2025, bringing over five years of international experience. Having lived and worked in Italy, the USA, and the Netherlands, Riccardo thrives in multicultural environments and understands the nuances of building relationships across diverse industries and markets.

Prior to joining ESOMAR, Riccardo gained valuable experience in Event Sales and Fintech, where he mastered the art of building strategic partnerships, structuring complex deals, and maximizing client value. He enjoys connecting the right people with the right opportunities. Whether structuring sponsorships or helping brands elevate their market presence, Riccardo is always looking for ways to create meaningful partnerships that drive value for both clients and the wider ESOMAR community.

Outside of work, Riccardo is passionate about sports, particularly Football and Surfing. He loves the thrill of catching waves and the camaraderie of team sports, which fuels his enthusiasm for connecting with people from all walks of life.

Olga is a testament to the unpredictability of life’s journeys. Initially joining ESOMAR in 2008 on what was meant to be a temporary basis, Olga’s dedication and passion have led her to remain for over 15 years. Originally drawn to The Netherlands for an abroad experience, she has since called it home for over 20 years. With a diverse background that includes living in 3 countries and fluency in 3 languages besides her native tongue, Olga brings an unique perspective to her role. Armed with a BA in Russian language and literature, her curiosity extends to social psychology, fueling her interest in understanding a human behaviour. Within ESOMAR, Olga’s forte lies in building relationships with individuals worldwide, whether it’s fostering connections with members, engaging with event delegates, or nurturing commercial partnerships. Her strong focus on product development stems from genuine desire to meet member needs and streamline internal processes, reflecting her dedication to enhancing the organization’s offerings. 

Gabriela Kusters is responsible for expanding the reach and performance of key marketing initiatives, boosting digital marketing effectiveness and growing organizational awareness around the world. She will apply her skills in all aspects of marketing to create strategies for positive growth.

With her experience, Gaby has the perfect blend in the digital marketing space and isn’t afraid to think outside the box - all while understanding the nuances of working in different regions around the world. Together with her team, Gaby conducts foundational work across all ESOMAR’s digital properties to ensure that outreach efforts are effective, optimized and aligned with organizational goals, values and culture.

Prior to joining ESOMAR in August 2022, Gaby managed marketing for high-tech telecommunications company, and led EMEA marketing programs for the global Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). Gaby holds a Master of Science in Marketing from Brunel University London and received her Bachelor of Science in Communications and Media Studies from HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Lucile joined ESOMAR in June 2021. She works on the development, implementation and optimisation of marketing campaigns (email, social media, advertising), as well as the coordination of the media partnership programme.

Before Lucile joined ESOMAR, she worked as a Digital Marketing Specialist at BoerenBed B.V for a couple of years in the Netherlands and as a Marketing Assistant in Dublin (Ireland) and Caen (France) where she is originally from.

Brandon joined ESOMAR in June 2021 to take on the task of managing our branding, design and any creative materials required by the ESOMAR community. He brings to life our community's outputs.

Brandon received his BA in Graphic Design from Vega School of Brand Leadership in Durban, South Africa and has worked as a freelancer, at a small creative marketing and design agency and as an in-house branding designer for an international provider of sustainability solutions.

Brandon is excited to be on the team and to take the branding of ESOMAR to the next level for your benefit.

Marina joined ESOMAR in April 2023 as a Social Media Specialist. Her role involves managing and optimizing ESOMAR's social media accounts, as well as developing and implementing social media campaigns to engage with the ESOMAR community.

Prior to joining ESOMAR, Marina worked as a Social Media Marketer at LightInTheBox for a couple of years, where she gained experience in social media strategy development, content creation, and community management. She also worked as a Social Media Manager and Gallery Assistant for an art gallery in the Netherlands.

Marina, who is originally from Spain, is enthusiastic about joining the ESOMAR communication team and is excited to take ESOMAR's social media presence to the next level by implementing innovative strategies and engaging content to reach and connect with ESOMAR's community.

Amy is our Global Content and Events Specialist at ESOMAR. She is responsible for curating exceptional event content and collaborating with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to ensure an optimal event process. Amy is also responsible for the planning and implementation of the ESOMAR's Virtual Academy.

Amy is an experienced business person who has lived and worked on 3 continents. She believes in creating an outstanding event experience and strives to ensure full support for event contributors and delegates with enthusiasm and professionalism.

Responsible for ESOMAR’s venue selection and management; implementation, coordination, and execution of all global conferences & exhibitions in line with the company’s mission.

In 2002 Annechien worked for ESOMAR, but in 2005 she moved to Bangkok, where she was a freelance conference organiser. After 17 years, her family moved back to the Netherlands, and she joined the ESOMAR team again, this time as Logistics Manager. She is highly passionate, results-oriented, dedicated and loves working in a cross-cultural environment.

In her free time, she loves running, cycling and meeting up with friends.

Monique is our Global Content & Events Specialist. Among her wide range of responsibilities are ensuring strong content development and delivery, through own research and close liaison with internal teams and external partners and is ensuring that each aspect of any ESOMAR event is delivered on time, within target and with sound financial results.

Originally Monique joined the ESOMAR Members Relations team as Customer Solutions Specialist in 2021 where she also assisted ESOMAR Reps in delivering local events.

Olga is a testament to the unpredictability of life’s journeys. Initially joining ESOMAR in 2008 on what was meant to be a temporary basis, Olga’s dedication and passion have led her to remain for over 15 years. Originally drawn to The Netherlands for an abroad experience, she has since called it home for over 20 years. With a diverse background that includes living in 3 countries and fluency in 3 languages besides her native tongue, Olga brings an unique perspective to her role. Armed with a BA in Russian language and literature, her curiosity extends to social psychology, fueling her interest in understanding a human behaviour. Within ESOMAR, Olga’s forte lies in building relationships with individuals worldwide, whether it’s fostering connections with members, engaging with event delegates, or nurturing commercial partnerships. Her strong focus on product development stems from genuine desire to meet member needs and streamline internal processes, reflecting her dedication to enhancing the organization’s offerings. 

Felix joined ESOMAR in 2010, and is currently in charge of R&D and maintenance of business systems and applications, and overall IT infrastructure. He is responsible for coordinating the maintenance of systems that are core parts of your member benefits such as our Resource Library by ANA and the Directory listing of registered companies.

Marcel joined ESOMAR just before the start of this millenium in November 1999. As his job title already shows, he has multiple caps on at ESOMAR. In his Finance role, Marcel is responsible for looking into the financials as well as the statistics of the current and previous years monitoring the financial health of your community. Marcel analyses these numbers and prepares both a reflection on the past versus current, as well as providing strategic insight into the Management Team and Council at ESOMAR.

In his HR Relations role, his main focus is on the salary administration, secondary employment benefits such as the ESOMAR pension scheme afforded to employees, recruitment of new staff together with the Chief Finance and Operations Officer, and the overall wellbeing of ESOMAR employees to ensure they can continue supporting you.

Marcel is married to a lovely Peruvian lady for more than 20 years, who has enriched his life and values in so many ways. He is a proud father of two boys that have become young adults already.

Caroline joined ESOMAR in 2014. As an office manager, Caroline oversees day-to-day office operations, manages support staff, coordinates essential services, and implements systems to maximize efficiency.

Caroline holds a Master of Law from the University of Amsterdam.

In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, dance salsa and going on city trips.

Marcel joined ESOMAR just before the start of this millenium in November 1999. As his job title already shows, he has multiple caps on at ESOMAR. In his Finance role, Marcel is responsible for looking into the financials as well as the statistics of the current and previous years monitoring the financial health of your community. Marcel analyses these numbers and prepares both a reflection on the past versus current, as well as providing strategic insight into the Management Team and Council at ESOMAR.

In his HR Relations role, his main focus is on the salary administration, secondary employment benefits such as the ESOMAR pension scheme afforded to employees, recruitment of new staff together with the Chief Finance and Operations Officer, and the overall wellbeing of ESOMAR employees to ensure they can continue supporting you.

Marcel is married to a lovely Peruvian lady for more than 20 years, who has enriched his life and values in so many ways. He is a proud father of two boys that have become young adults already.

Nordin has been working at ESOMAR since 2013, taking various positions in the area of finance and business processes. Since the beginning of 2020, he is has been heading the Finance and Member Services departments and brings a wealth of experience implementing business processes and routines.

Nordin is a certified Data Protection Officer certified by the Universiteit Maastricht's European Centre for Cybersecurity and Data Protection.

Stella joined ESOMAR Finance and Accounting department in 2007. She held different positions within the departments over the years.

Stella is a management and accounting major, with a bachelor's degree in International Management and Business from Hogeschool van Amsterdam,
the Netherlands, and a professional accounting qualification from the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting -CIMA the United Kingdom.
Her primary work concern is credit management alongside members relations and retention management.

Stella joyfully extends extra support to the ESOMAR African Members and Interests.