Judges for the MRS Awards 2025

Shazia Ali is Director and Founder of Mint Research.

With over 30 years’ experience in marketing insights and analytics Rupert has specialist knowledge in the areas of market segmentation for identifying growth opportunities; marketing spend effectiveness, pricing analytics, commercial investment optimisation and MMM.

He has worked across numerous sectors in agency, consulting and client roles and has experience in FMCG/CPG, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and Telecommunications. Rupert has had key insight roles in Haleon, ABInBev, SABMiller, Monitor Company (now Monitor Deloitte), Barclays Bank PLC and NTL Inc (now Virgin Media).

Rupert has been a member of MRS since 1993 and holds the MRS Diploma.

Caroline Callahan (FMRS), is a Research Director at Ipsos, was a Partner at MORI and is a social, commercial and forensic researcher with experience spanning across a wide range of sectors in both the domestic and international markets. She’s a skilled qualitative and quantitative research.

Caroline sits on MRS Market Research Standards Board, has contributed to research understanding across a wide range of industries, published numerous articles and reports and a speaker at many conferences. She has also led many ethics and standards-based training courses and has been a guest facilitator on Forensic research.

Lee is a market and social researcher with a passion for making the industry accessible and welcoming to all.

Lee is an insight expert within the Behavioural Science and Insights Unit at the government body UKHSA, building on her previous experience which covers market research agencies, local government, and the third sector.

A certified member of the MRS, Lee recently joined the MRS EDI Council having already acted as an observer and critical friend, and having contributed to its strategic planning. Among her other achievements, Lee is a trustee of the Social Research Association, leading their EDI subgroup.

Barbie founded Family Kids & Youth in 2003 having previously set up and run the children’s research division at GfK (NOP). Barbie is a trained child and adolescent psychotherapist and her PhD was in child and adolescent psycho-social development. Barbie is author of many research papers and reports looking at the wellbeing of children, children’s rights, research methodology and children and young people’s use of digital media.

After a diverse career including customer service, project management, operational management and even some HR project work, in 2014 Steven found his passion for research and has never looked back!

Steven is responsible for the Leeds Building Society research department, maximising his ten plus year client-side industry experience across B2B and B2C. He works with leading partners and agencies across the industry to bring the needs of customer to the heart of the organisation.

Alongside his “day job” Steven became AURA Director of Events and Awards in 2018, and Vice Chair in 2023 where he is responsible for delivering the AURA program of webinars, seminars, conference content and the AURA awards.

Chloe has been a qualitative researcher for 25 years and intends to be one for the next 25 too (okay, maybe 15). She is founder of The Nest Research, otherwise known as being an independent consultant. Chloe was Chair of the Association for Qualitative Research (AQR) for four years, is a proud MRS Fellow and a mentor for MRS, and part of MRSpride Steering Committee. She writes novels in her spare time.

Sania is a leading specialist in researching diverse audiences, with 15 years of experience in consumer and social insight. She helps commercial clients in music, entertainment, and beyond navigate and reach diverse audiences while working closely with governments and non-profits to help them better understand and meet the socioeconomic needs of underrepresented communities.

She is the founder of Bye 2 Stereotypes, which brings together her research, training, and advisory work on diversity and inclusion, and is also the Co-Founder of Qulture Qanvas, a market research company dedicated to helping brands and organisations gain meaningful insights into diverse audiences.

An award-winning Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) practitioner and Cultural Consultant, Sania is a recognised leader in inclusive research and data. She has played a pivotal role in shaping best practices, including as a Technical Author for the British Standards Institute, a member of the Market Research Society's Representation in Research Steering Group, and a trainer for MRS courses on Inclusive Research.
She regularly writes, speaks, and trains on topics related to inclusive research, cultural diversity, and equity in data.

Alan has been working in the research sector for a while now, honing his skills since 1998. Still an active practitioner he loves moderating in all its glorious forms.

He has a passion for providing opportunities for the next generation of researcher and sits on the AQR Parker Prize judging panel that identifies and celebrates emerging talent each year.

Sarah is an award-winning insight professional with a career spanning over 20 years. A published author, she started in social policy research before moving to Ipsos MORI as a Head of Qualitative within the Media, Content and Technology team, where she won the prestigious AQR Award for Qualitative Effectiveness.

In 2016, Sarah founded Magenta Research, growing it into a multi-award-winning agency renowned for its storytelling and uncovering insights that surprise, challenge, and inspire clients. As an active member of the research community, Sarah has judged awards, served as AQR Vice Chair, and delivered MRS training. As a respected speaker and thought leader, she continues to push the boundaries of research and challenge others to think differently.

RACHEL LAWES is a futurist and marketer with a doctorate in social psychology. She established her commercial practice in 2002 and supplies marketing strategy, informed by semiotics, to brands around the world.

She is the author of Using Semiotics in Marketing, now in a second edition. She also wrote Using Semiotics in Retail, which won the prize for Best Book on Sales & Marketing at the Business Book Awards 2023. Rachel is a Fellow of the Market Research Society in the UK.

Clifford Lewis, (he/him/his) is a Marketing academic at Charles Sturt University in Australia. His research focuses on inclusion and belonging, specifically exploring the experiences of LGBTQ+ people within rural and regional Australia.

He is a member of ACON’s (Australia’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy body) Research Ethics Review Committee and has published guidelines on conducting sensitive research with LGBTQ+ people. Prior to his academic career, he was the Head of State (NSW) for a global market research company. In that role, he led a team of researchers on projects that informed policy and practice across Australia, including conducting evaluations for SafeWork NSW, and the Transport Accident Commission Victoria.

Phyllis has worked in market research throughout her career, managing GfK’s UK company from 2000-2009. She then spent several years working on the GfK Verein’s University Cooperation Programme in Africa and Asia. During this time, she was twice Chair of the MRS and served on the MRS Board.

She is currently Chair of the Contents Committee of the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR}, focussed on growing usage, also a Director of Better Statistics CIC, which campaigns to improve the quality of official statistics, and Treasurer of ESOMAR Foundation. She is a Fellow of the MRS and winner of the MRS Gold and Silver medals and ESOMAR Excellence Award.

Ben founded Electrify Research in 2023 to provide energy companies, banks, government, and OEMs with powerful insights on home decarbonisation via the Homeowner Electrification Tracking Study (HETS).

Prior to this, he founded and led YouthSight for 18 years, building the UK’s largest youth access panel and developing five tracking studies primarily aimed at universities. He successfully sold the business to Savanta in 2022.

Ben holds a degree from Manchester University and an MBA from Bayes Business School. He has been a Fellow of the Market Research Society since 2021, an MRS Awards judge since 2022 and an MRS mentor since 2023.

Louise is the MD (UK) of Lovebrands, a Paris-headquartered insights-led consultancy. She is a researcher and strategist with experience across diverse methods, including: ethnography and cocreation; semiotics, trends and cultural insight; quantitative research and data analytics – and more.

She works on an international business covering a range of sectors. She brings training in systems thinking and scenario planning to her work. Outside of her ‘day job’ she is a fellow of RSA, a founding member of MarketingKind, the cofounder of Insight Climate Collective, and the Chair of Trustees of the Talking Taboos Foundation.

Virginia has over 40 years’ experience of market research, most recently as owner/MD of This is Motif. Motif was a full-service insights agency which specialised in understanding and developing customer loyalty for leading consumer brands and financial institutions, based on a propriety evidence-based loyalty model.

After selling Motif to Savanta, Ginny has been working as a strategic business advisor with a couple of SME agencies, as well as helping develop industry talent, through her involvement in the MRS Mentor Scheme. Ginny is the current Chair of the Market Research Benevolent Association (MRBA), the industry’s only charity aimed at helping colleagues in severe financial need. Ginny is also a Peer Reviewer for the MRS Fast Track Certified Member Scheme and is a Fellow of the MRS.

Corrine is a widely renowned expert with a 30-year track record for innovation and excellence. For many years, she led the global Marketing & Data Science practice at GfK.

She currently consults for a range of research agencies and brands – in the areas of research/insights design & methodology, advanced analytics & data science, development of new research products.

She is a regular contributor to industry conferences and publications, with many awards for this work. She currently serves as Treasurer & Council member of ESOMAR. She sits on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Market Research.

Simon has 20 years’ experience advising brands how to connect with their audiences. He sits on the board of the Association for Qualitative Research and writes frequently about research and behavioral science.

Mark has worked in strategic insight for over twenty-five years and has supported many organisations, from start-ups to leading global businesses, advising them on a range of issues.
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Mark is a Fellow of the MRS and part of the Delphi Group (the MRS think tank). He is passionate about EDI and is Chair of the MRS Inclusion Pledge Committee. He is a regular speaker at events and writes about important themes regularly.

Louise is Head of Insight at PHD and leads a team of talented researchers who are on a mission to redefine the role of insights in modern communications planning. Her team are the current holders of the Media Research Group’s Media Agency Research Team of the Year award.

Her career spans 20+ years in research for media brands and agencies. Louise is involved in several initiatives to champion cultural and ethnic diversity at PHD/OMG and has twice been recognised on the EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model List. In 2023 she won Adwanted’s Future Media Leader of the Year award and featured in Campaign’s 40 over 40 list.

Sarah Whiddett is currently a Client Partner at Kantar, leading 3 of their global accounts worth over £24m per annum, she is also a NED at Safestay, Previous roles include Head of Insight/CX/ Marketing at Bidfood, as well as roles at Waitrose and Kokoro.

She was previously Chair of AURA, and coaches, lectures and mentors within the industry.

Caroline is a strategic insights partner to some of the world’s most exciting organisations, including the BBC, Sky, Spotify, Audible, Google, Paramount, CNN, and Ancestry. She is MD and co-founder of MTM, a 3-time winner of MRS Agency of the Year and Adwanted Agency of the Year. MTM works around the globe, offering audience and B2B insights, commercial strategy, cultural insights, and UXR. Last year, Caroline was awarded a fellowship by the MRS in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the industry.

Her specialist area is media and advertising engagement, where she loves to create bespoke solutions to address the thorniest client challenges – often regarding DEI, ad impact, or targeting.