We are delighted to announce a further bolstering of the research team having almost doubled revenues in the last financial year.

The research team has grown with the appointment of three new team members – Laura Lyon, Irina Dimitriade and Hannah Barnsley. We are also delighted to announce deserved promotions for Anthony Shephard (associate director) and Jack Melton Bradley (research manager).

A significant coup for the business has been to appoint trends specialist Laura Lyon as senior research manager.

Laura has more than 9 years’ research experience. She has a strong background in media, having most recently been a senior planner for BBC Worldwide and prior to that consumer insight planner for Guardian News & Media where she won honours and awards including Best In-house Research Team. She has also worked with UKTV and IPC Media. Laura will be growing and developing Mustard’s media client base.

Laura specialises in consumer trends, and will take strategic responsibility for building trends insights and wider cultural contexts into all research projects.

 

Speaking about her appointment, Laura commented “I was drawn to Mustard because of the commitment the business has to making a difference. The opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills to a broader client base also appealed, allowing me to ultimately play a role in making a difference to the lives of people in different sectors and situations.”

She has a BA (Hons) Geography from Durham University.

 

Also joining the team as research executive is Irina Dimitriade.

Irina joined the team earlier in the summer, having spent two years in research, in academia and then agency-side.

Commenting, Irina said, “It’s funny, Mustard has been on my radar for a long time, it was one of those “one day I will work there” feelings (and I am happy to report that good things do come to those who wait!). What really sealed the decision for me, however, was the team, and how everyone clearly has something really unique and quirky about them. This really resonated and made me believe by joining the team, it will help me become more unique, more innovative in my research.”

Irina’s interests and specialisms include Behavioural Economics, and she is already proving herself to be a formidable project manager for key clients in the leisure sector. She will be continuing to challenge herself, and will be applying her skills to both qualitative and quantitative research programmes in the public and private sector.

Irina has an MSc. in Sociology (specialised in Gender and Sexuality Studies) from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and a B.A. in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Bucharest, Romania.

 

 

Mustard’s third appointment is Hannah Barnsley. 

Hannah has joined as research executive from NHS England in London. Hannah specialises in qualitative research and has a keen interest in the use of language.

Mustard is her first agency position, and commenting on her appointment Hannah said, “I was attracted to Mustard as it is delivering the types of projects and programmes that I really wanted to get involved it. The agency has a very individualistic and tailored approach, using a broader armoury of methods, so I was confident it would be a great place to develop all of my core research skills. After one meeting I knew instantly they would also be a great team to work with…and I was definitely right!”

Hannah has started her journey with Mustard assisting with projects in the leisure and financial services sectors, and will also be inputting into the business development strategy.

Her interest in research was sparked by her undergraduate degree in Psychology and latterly a Masters in Psychological research.

 

In addition to the three new hires, Mustard is pleased to announce two promotions.

Anthony Shephard has been promoted to associate director.

Anthony has risen through the ranks at Mustard since joining 6 years ago. He has spear-headed Mustard’s online qualitative proposition, and has delivered online communities for clients in retail, hair & beauty, software, technology, financial services and the public sector.

He will be having more strategic input in developing Mustard’s online qualitative research capabilities and exploring new and innovative ways of conducting research online to get inside the heads of consumers.

Anthony also manages Mustard’s ISO20252 approved processes and procedures, and in addition to this and his project director responsibilities, Anthony is also guardian to Dexter, the office dog, and is planning a December wedding!

Jack Melton Bradley has been promoted to research manager.

Jack initially joined Mustard in April 2015, and has four years’ experience. He has been rewarded for consistently delivering for clients in sectors including social housing and medical indemnity.

His client manner and presentation skills have been regularly lauded within and outside the business.

He will continue to take more responsibility for project management and delivery as well as new business development, and will hopefully retain his passion for learning (and sharing) about all things new, weird and wonderful!

Gareth Hodgson, director, commenting on the team changes said,

“After virtually doubling our turnover year-on-year, it was important to take the time to strengthen our team with the right people. Laura, Irina and Hannah all absolutely fit the bill in terms of experience, attitude and personality and we’re delighted to add them to the team. Anthony and Jack played key roles in our growth and it’s fantastic to reward them with promotions.”