Throughout her career Marilyn Weiss has conducted hundreds of market research initiatives for Fortune 500 companies, including General Mills, Best Buy, Target, GE and Walmart. Her work specializes in consumer behavior research within shoppers’ natural environments—both in store and at home—through careful observation and interaction. In addition, Marilyn has extensive experience in the design and execution of traditional qualitative research and product innovation.

Little-known fact: Marilyn met her business partner, Cindy Blackstock, in a Caribou coffee shop. Thus evolved the “Sivo” way… letting the power of human connection take over to create incredible opportunities!

Cindy brings more than 15 years experience of global product management and business development to her role at Sivo Insights.

Prior to Sivo Insights, she was a marketing consultant for major consumer products companies.  She has also served as a senior product manager and research scientist for Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Clients appreciate Cindy’s ability to draw on her technical and innovation background to translate consumer insights into sensible business strategy.

Little-known fact: Cindy is the prettiest, most athletic “geek” you’ll ever meet. She holds five U.S. patents and trains and competes in Ironman triathlons. Her most recent qualifier? The Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI, in October 2013.

Cindy brings 19 years of consumer research and business expertise to her role at Sivo Insights. She spent the first nine years of her career working on business-to-business and consumer package goods research, and the past 10 years as a member of various marketing teams within General Mills. Cindy’s experience specializes in both new and established products and she enjoys experimenting with innovative research methods to best meet her client’s needs.

Little-known fact: Cindy was born in Japan and spent a college semester abroad, studying in England.

A management consultant and senior brand strategist, Susan currently serves as a moderator for Sivo Insights. She is highly experienced in developing and implementing strategies to help clients improve competitive differentiation. Her experience spans from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofit organizations, including Nike, Target, Best Buy, Liz Claiborne and Ingersoll Rand.

Little-known fact: Susan is the proud second place winner of her 3rd grade county-wide spelling bee. She was eliminated on a terrifically hard word: Thanksgiving. (She forgot the “s.”) Susan displays the trophy proudly and gives “thank” every day.

Laurie brings 15 years of market research consulting experience to her role with Sivo Insights. She specializes in lead and back-up interviewing and moderating, and can also manage the implementation of full service research projects, from project design and reporting through launch. Prior to joining Sivo Insights, Laurie worked at GFK as a research manager, working on custom projects for Fortune 100 clients that involved specialized interviewing and research techniques. Laurie also has experience working as a consultant for General Mills on concept creation and qualitative in-context research. Laurie is known for her keen ability to understand consumers’ feelings, values and perceptions of a particular product or service and interpret insights to help clients build stronger, more effective marketing plans.

Little-known fact: Laurie made the “best diving catch in the history of Bluff Creek Elementary School Parents Day Dodgeball Game,” per her daughter’s Phy. Ed teacher.

Jeri has worked in the advertising and creative services business for over twenty years. She began her career as an art director, and evolved her passion for strategic thinking and effective creative work into a successful career as an Account Planner and later Planning Director. She has had the privilege of working for several of the country’s best creative agencies including The Richards Group, Fallon McElligott, and Martin Williams.  She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University and a Master of Marketing Research degree from Southern Illinois University.

Little-known fact: Jeri can say “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (from Mary Poppins movie) backwards. A small, but mighty, talent.

Katy has extensive experience in market research and brand development, having worked as an advertising account planner, as well as an independent consultant. She enjoys bringing the consumer perspective into focus and using it to guide communication strategy, positioning, and creative development. She has worked with clients that span multiple industries, including US Bank, Polaris, Cosetta, U of M Alumni Foundation, the Public Relations Society of America, and Marvin Windows.

Little-known fact: Katy can do a near-perfect impersonation of Janis Joplin singing “Me and Bobby Mc Gee.” But please, don’t ask her.

Julie has extensive experience in marketing research and strategic planning from both the client and agency perspectives. A marketing research and strategic planning consultant since 2001, she has guided development of brand positioning, advertising and creative development, and marketing and communication strategies for a variety of organizations, including Deluxe, Aveda, University of Wisconsin, US Bank, EcoLab, Polaris, and many top advertising agencies.

Little-known fact: Julie once gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dog.

Therese has more than 20 years of qualitative research and project management experience spanning a variety of consumer and business-to-business sectors. She has worked with major clients on new product testing, advertising campaign development, branding and positioning, brand user satisfaction, and packaging and website design preferences. Depending on project needs, she can be involved in the full qualitative process, from preparing project materials, to interviewing and moderating, through analysis and reporting. Therese’s invaluable client experience enables Sivo Insights to design and implement innovative research that is truly actionable for our clients.

Little-known fact: Therese knows the difference between a ‘Yooper’ and a ‘Troll.”

Laurie brings 10 years of entrepreneurial and freelance writing and editing experience and 6 years of consumer research experience at GfK to her role with Sivo Insights. She specializes in comprehensive report writing and promotional writing for Sivo but will also occasionally jump in on the front end with research design and interviewing. At GfK, Laurie managed custom projects from start to finish for Fortune 100 clients and designed, managed, and authored the final deliverables. After GfK, Laurie founded and ran a successful wellness company, which included products, services, and travel experiences. Laurie’s foremost passion is writing and she thoroughly enjoys synthesizing findings, culling them into highly organized, actionable insights.

Little-known fact: Once a year, Laurie helps release baby sea turtles in a remote village in southern Mexico and has, on more than one occasion, been tempted to try to smuggle one of those darling little souls back to the States. So, if you haven’t heard from her in some time, do inquire with Mexican Customs’ authorities.

With more than 20 years of marketing/agency experience, Kobi has had the opportunity to impact all stages of the marketing cycle – from the early account planning and research phases, all the way through to execution and results. Kobi brings strong writing/editing skills, thoughtful analysis and reporting ability, and an eye for detail to the Sivo Insights team.

Prior to collaborating with Sivo Insights, Kobi worked at two integrated marketing firms, Weber Shandwick and Fast Horse, where she was responsible for leading initiatives for many local and national consumer clients. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with a marketing emphasis, from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.

Little-known fact: Kobi is great at “hanging around” and to this day, she holds the Presidential Physical Fitness bent-arm hang record at her elementary school (although, she’s pretty sure they stopped testing for it nearly a decade ago – nonetheless, her record was never broken).

Katherine brings a background in graphic design, psychology and the nonprofit sector to her role as content strategist at Sivo Insights. She has over 20 years of experience working with organizations including Conran’s Design Group, Tiffany & Company, the Heard Museum, the University of Minnesota and American Public Media to develop branded initiatives, publications and presentations. A strategist and writer specializing in concept articulation, Katherine’s mission is to capture, organize and present information that communicates clearly and generates new insight and energy.

Little-known fact: Katherine once held the Tiffany Diamond in the palm of her hand while art directing a photo shoot for a former employer. She is still easily distracted by shiny objects.

Rachel brings a fresh, creative edge to Sivo Insights, plus a positive, get-it-done attitude to every project. Throughout her career, she has developed proven creative for a variety of clients, including General Mills, Georgia Pacific, Lamb Weston, Dairy Queen, Hidden Valley, Hillshire Brands, and Land O’Lakes. Clients can count on Rachel for her spot-on design capabilities, including new product renderings, package design, focus group concepts and storyboards.

Little-known fact: Rachel performed in a children’s touring circus for two years, at age 11 and 12. She ate fire. No joke.

Jennifer is a 20+ year veteran brand manager (PepsiCo, Nabisco, Heinz) and research moderator with an instinctive ability to connect with people to develop empathy and uncover deep insights. She is passionate about bringing the consumer’s story to the forefront and helping guide her clients to actionable, strategic decisions.  While serving as VP at GfK, Jennifer helped countless clients with innovation, brand positioning, brand architecture, and overall business strategy across the CPG, OTC Healthcare, and B2B Ingredient industries.

Little-known fact: When Jennifer, a young Assistant Brand Manager, was on set filming her first commercial in LA for a national brand, she may have slightly stalked (and frightened) the star, Paul Reiser, in an effort to take his photo.

Martha is an experienced brand strategy consultant with a passion for helping brands grow. Her expertise centers on strategic brand innovation, market landscape/trends, brand positioning, and overall business strategies. A seasoned research consultant and moderator from her service as VP at GfK, she is driven by finding the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’ to develop consumer-centric solutions to business challenges. Martha has helped numerous clients develop successful growth strategies, including: Dole, Frito Lay, GlaxoSmithKline, Campbell Soup Company, and Colgate-Palmolive.

Little-known fact: In her early twenties, Martha taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in Indonesia and Detroit for 4 years before embarking on her marketing career.

Natalie arrives at Sivo with 12 years of consumer insight experience at General Mills. During this time, she excelled in various advertising, positioning, concept development and analysis, innovation, Shopper Marketing, and business-to-business roles. This wealth of experience enables Natalie to approach each project with expertise and experience-based intuition. At SIVO, she draws on her calm and amicable nature to easily establish rapport and gain deep, meaningful insights from consumers in various settings. Additionally, her strong attention to detail for project management ensures all aspects of a project are executed to perfection.

Prior to her time in consumer insights, Natalie worked at Ernst & Young as an Auditor and at General Mills in Finance. These experiences provide a solid business background that she applies to all projects in her care.

Little known fact: Natalie grew up eating bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches with peanut butter instead of mayonnaise. She firmly believes it’s the best way to enjoy a BLT!

Jen brings more than 25 years of advertising, marketing, and consumer insights experience to Sivo. Jen began her career in advertising leading accounts such as General Mills, McDonald’s, and ConAgra at both DDB Needham and Campbell Mithun. During that time, Jen fell in love with the voice of the consumer so began her own consumer insights business, working with agencies and corporations on package design, ad evaluation, and new product development. Most recently, Jen was a founding partner of Lyman Hawley Partners, a marketing firm specializing in strategic partnership and new platform development.

Little-known fact: Jen is an avid soccer fan having played in college, and coached all levels. She’s seen the World Cup in 4 different countries around the world. If you cannot find her, check the pitch!

Jodi brings more than 13 years of consumer research experience to her role at Sivo Insights. While at General Mills, Jodi had the opportunity to serve on a variety of marketing brand teams in both grocery and convenience channels. She has produced innumerable actionable and impactful consumer insights for both new and established products while leveraging a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. Jodi is known for being organized, detail-oriented, and accountable while maintaining calm under pressure. Prior to consumer insights, Jodi worked in audit at KPMG Peat Marwick.

Little known fact: At the start of her career, while working as an auditor, Jodi verified inventory of everything from pigs to wigs. She once spent a day counting 3,500 pigs across Southern Minnesota!

Austin began his career at General Mills before moving on to gain extensive experience as a qualitative research consultant, developing innovative research techniques and providing deep insights into what consumers want and need. Austin believes in the power of story, in the seeking out and sharing of emotionally rich experiences that drive team empathy for their consumers. Austin is seasoned in everything from online and in-home methodologies to innovation and ideation workshop facilitation. He has seamlessly fielded countless research initiatives for Fortune 50 clients.

Little-known fact: Austin is an aspiring children’s book author and has an entire box filled with new book ideas scribbled on random pieces of paper.

As a trained artist, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Liz has a love for the creative process.  Liz’s 20 year General Mills career started in the Creative Group with the vast majority of her time there in Brand Design, translating marketing strategies into consumer connections via package design.  As a member of various teams within General Mills, including brand strategy for Big G cereals, Yoplait, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, and Pillsbury, Liz is a proven expert at integrating design thinking into new product processes, partnering to develop creative, innovative, consumer-first products for launch with solid market success. Her passion is using design as a business tool to drive brand value and growth.

Little-known fact: Liz grew up on a dairy farm in southwest Wisconsin. As the youngest of 15 children (7 boys and 8 girls), she is no stranger to hard work, sustainable farming, cooking and caring for nature. At bedtime, farm stories are her children’s favorite.

Ralph arrives at Sivo with over 30 years of innovation, brand management, and consumer insight work spanning across retail, durables, CPG, consumer electronics, and health care. Ralph was Managing Director at Ameritest, Senior VP at GfK, and held senior management positions at Arbor Strategy Group, Unilever, and S.C. Johnson Wax. Ralph’s ingenuity at integrating consumer insights with big picture business strategy to create winning innovations makes him an outstanding research partner.

Fun Fact:  Ralph once worked with Michelle Obama through a charity benefiting Chicago Public Schools.

Katrina comes to Sivo with 15 years of business consulting and consumer insights experience. A former actuary, Katrina left the field after discovering her passion for marketing and consumer insights. After receiving her MBA, she worked in Consumer Insights at General Mills, managing global teams that assessed brand health and ran large-scale quantitative research studies for key domestic and international brands. With extensive experience in CPG and healthcare insights, Katrina brings a wealth of knowledge and intuitive empathy to each consumer and client engagement.

Little-known fact:  A seasoned world traveler, Katrina has taken a 3-month road trip through the US, attended yoga intensives in Bali, and sampled international cuisine in food tours across 8 different countries.