Wayne Marks
President, Hansa GCR
Wayne Marks joined Hansa as President in January of 2008. He brings over 30 years of research and consulting experience to clients in multiple industries, including technology, financial services, industrial sectors, healthcare, retail and packaged goods. Mr. Marks is a nationally known expert on customer experience management. His work at the forefront of research methods and techniques has helped clients understand the drivers of customer behavior and use that knowledge to increase business results. He has worked with Fortune 500 clients to research customer needs, develop new products and segmentations, implement new business strategies, and generate customer loyalty. He is a frequent speaker on customer loyalty, the impact of emotions on customer behavior, and business management based on customer data and analysis.
Prior to joining Hansa, Mr. Marks held senior executive positions with Synovate, Symmetrics Marketing Corporation, The Forum Corporation, and Age Wave, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and a Master of Public Administration degree with distinction from Cornell University Johnson School of Management.
Michale Cruz, PhD.
Senior Vice President
Mike Cruz is responsible for innovation in research design, the development of analysis plans tailored to client needs and the translation of analytic output into actionable recommendations for business.
He has expertise in a broad range of analytic techniques including market sizing, forecasting, segmentation, structural equation modelling, nonlinear models and curve fitting, bootstrapping and Monte Carlo simulation.
In addition to his focus on analytics, he has significant research experience in brand performance and messaging, customer relationships, product development and advertising tracking and testing. He has worked with clients in technology, insurance and financial services, and healthcare, among others.
Prior to joining Hansa, Dr. Cruz was a research director at Gartner and worldwide head of forecasting for Gartner|G2. Previously, he was a faculty member in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published numerous articles on leadership, group processes, decision making and statistics.
Dr. Cruz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and master’s and doctoral degrees in communication from Michigan State University.
Jenn Falco
Senior Vice President
Jenn Falco is Senior Vice President of Client Services. Jenn leads the firm’s practice on Customer Relationship Equity and was instrumental in developing the firm’s industry-leading approach to measuring customer and brand relationships. She is an accomplished strategist who has consulted to major global corporations on their brand, customer engagement and market positioning strategies. Jenn has deep experience supporting clients’ innovation work and has led major research and consulting initiatives to identify customer and prospect unmet needs, emotional motivators and competitive opportunities. Her expertise spans the product innovation funnel from opportunity identification and concept development through go-to-market-strategy development and marketing communications refinement. Prior to joining Hansa, Jenn led the IT services custom research team within Gartner, a leading technology-focused research and advisory firm. Jenn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and Literature from Reed College and an MBA from Cornell University S.C Johnson School of Management.
Mr. Swamy is a member of the faculty at the Northwestern University and is considered one of the best brand strategists in practice today. He has made major contributions to leading to leading global brands including Mercedes Benz, Gillette, Mars, O’General, Hawkins, Piaggio, Raymond, VISA, WIPRO and others. Mr. Swamy’s experience and interest in cross-border communications led him to successfully co-develop a pioneering course on Global Marketing Communications at Northwestern, which he has co-led for 18 years. The University inducted Shekar into the Alumni Hall of Achievement in 2002.
Mr. Swamy is a co-founder of the C S Foundation, a not-for-profit body established as a bridge between those who feel the need to give and causes that deserve support (www.cs-foundation.org). He holds an MBA from the University of Delhi and an MS from Northwestern University. He travels extensively, splitting his time between the USA and India.
