About GBS
Mission
To eliminate the resourcing issues that affect busy marketing, strategy and research teams.
Vision
A world where client-side teams have the space, time and resources to maximize their talents instead of being bogged down in the minutia.
Values
Transparency, communication, timeliness and matching talent to task.
Who Works with GBS
Client-side insights teams
Brand and Media planning teams
Clients with no internal insight team
Research agencies that work with our clients
The GBS Team
Samuelle Beauregard
Managing Director
Samuelle is a dynamic consumer insights specialist with a proven record of converting consumer learning into meaningful and actionable strategies. Her speciality is retail planning and insights for global projects, and her professional passion is driving brand growth in FMCG segments. As Founder and Managing Director of GBS, Samuelle leads the team in providing agile, responsive and professional support to insights teams.
Education & Expertise
Samuelle’s Education and Associations
- M.Sc. Marketing
- Member of MRS (Market Research Society)
Samuelle’s Areas of Expertise
- Managing all types of quantitative and qualitative studies including associated research budgets
- Uncovering gaps that lead to successful product/portfolio innovations
- Leading ads and claims testing
- Leveraging continuous data analysis (EPOS, Kantar, customer satisfaction, brand tracker)
- Engaging stakeholders across the business with consumer opportunities
- Fluent in French and English. Conversational in Portuguese.
Jana Antalova
SENIOR MARKETING CONSULTANT
Jana is a senior marketing and innovation leader with a proven ability to drive growth across FMCG and PE-backed businesses. Partnering closely with clients, she turns insights into actionable growth strategies that strengthen market positioning and unlock new opportunities. Fuelled by an entrepreneurial mindset and a passion for emerging technology, Jana combines big-picture thinking with data-driven expertise to deliver practical solutions with real impact.
Education & Expertise
Jana’s Education and Associations
- Engineer of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Business Management
Melanie Appleby
Senior Insight Consultant
Melanie is a strategic and driven insights professional with brand research experience at leading agencies and brands in the UK and North America. Quantitative work is her specialty, but she can also bring together multiple data sources and stakeholder input to deliver comprehensive findings that highlight strategic implications.Melanie uses her unique combination of analytical skills, strategic thinking and passion for brands to identify and navigate pain points during programme design, and get the most accurate results.
Education & Expertise
Melanie’s Education and Associations
- Melanie has presented alongside clients at ESOMAR, MRA and MRS Conferences.
Melanie’s Areas of Expertise
- Brand and community research ¾ from ideation to in-market testing and tracking
- Managing multi-country research studies including APAC, North America, Europe and the Middle East
- Elevating insight from qualitative and quantitative studies
- Challenging client and agency assumptions and hypotheses in a positive, forward-thinking way
- Engaging client stakeholders in the research process and strategic recommendations
Vassili Dagiakidis
Senior Insight Consultant
Vassili specialises in project management, quantitative analysis, and insights reporting. He has led global projects across the FMCG and financial sectors, combining strong organisational skills with a sharp attention to detail. He has experience with research and analytics platforms including Q Research Software and Qualtrics, and a growing interest in AI, with hands-on use of tools such as ChatGPT and Claude.
Education & Expertise
Vassili’s Education and Associations
- Bachelor of Commerce (with Honours)
Vassili’s Areas of Expertise
- Project management of quantitative studies, programming surveys in Qualtrics
- Transitioning critical CX programs between two suppliers
- Insights and reporting
- Data management and analysis, including VBA and dashboard creation
- Fluent in Greek and English, as well as the occasional phrase of Swahili he picked up whilst volunteering in Tanzania
Melanie Forrester
SENIOR BRAND AND INSIGHT CONSULTANT
Melanie has over 20 years experience in senior roles in client-side consumer research and brand marketing for multinational FMCG and Retail organisations. She is passionate about putting consumer understanding at the heart of brand decision making. As an insight specialist, Melanie has wide client-side experience in both FMCG and retail organisations, while her experience of leading marketing teams means she is able to convert insight into truly actionable strategies which lead to profitable brand growth.
Education & Expertise
Melanie’s Education and Associations
- MA (Hons) in Politics
Melanie’s Areas of Expertise
- All areas of brand research, including proposition development, packaging, concept development and testing and consumer product testing.
- Advertising development research.
- Leading all types of qualitative and quantitative research projects.
- Integrating continuous and ad hoc sources to provide all round consumer understanding.
- Creating new insight from existing research and business data to stimulate new strategic thinking.
- Developing strategic partnerships with marketing teams to build learning plan, develop opportunity platforms and strategies for brand growth.
Guillaume Gonzalez
Analyst and Charter
Guillaume cumulates various experiences across sales, marketing, journalism, public relations and community work. He started his career in book edition where his attention to details made him stand-out. He now works as Communications Director of Ville-Marie city.
Education & Expertise
Guillaume’s Education and Associations
- BSc in Physics and Chemistry
Guillaume’s Areas of Expertise
- Building charts and tables rapidly and accurately in powerpoint
- Showing an eagle-eye to identify mistakes or spot data discrepancies
- Solution-oriented
- Strong empathy skills
- Fluent in French and English.
Yimen Lee
SENIOR BRAND AND INSIGHT CONSULTANT
Yimen is a seasoned qualitative researcher and brand strategist with two decades of experience at respected brand and communications agencies. An AQR and MRS trained moderator, she leads with rigour and instinct in equal measure, bringing depth to the full brand journey across a wide range of sectors and audiences from B2B to B2C. She is also skilled at integrating quantitative data into her qualitative work to give clients a more complete view of the landscape. Yimen has a gift for building rapport quickly and drawing out honest, unguarded responses. She turns complex findings into clear, compelling narratives that stick with stakeholders long after the debrief, and works as a true extension of her clients’ teams.
Expertise
Yimen’s Areas of Expertise
- Qualitative moderation
- Insight gathering and storytelling
- Sharpening client briefs and research questions
- Research technology & AI tools
- B2B and B2C research Creative workshop facilitation.
Diana Pinto
Senior Insight Consultant
Diana’s gift is finding stories in data and conveying them concisely and purposefully. She has spent much of her 25 years on the research agency side, working across the FMCG, financial services, fashion and tech/telecom sectors.She has extensive experience working on quantitative projects for retailers at an international level, and consistently delivers on her objectives thanks to her exceptional organisational and project management skills.
Education & Expertise
Diana’s Education and Associations
- MA European Business
Diana’s Areas of Expertise
- Understanding and improving customer experience throughout brand touchpoints and communications
- Developing story-led reports and creating engaging client-ready outputs, including segmentation profiles
- Leading and overseeing quantitative and qualitative analysis, including advanced use of SPSS and Q research software
- Using strong project management skills to ensure results are delivered on time and on budget
- Fluent in English and Portuguese. Conversational French.
Tom Sclanders
Senior Insight Consultant
Tom came to GBS from client-side insight teams across FMCG, media and retail. He is analytically and commercially minded with a passion for identifying and understanding intrinsic customer needs and bringing them to life for stakeholders across the organization.Tom develops strong relationships and engages stakeholders with action-orientated, commercially viable recommendations based on customer insight.
Education & Expertise
Tom’s Education and Associations
- BSc in Management Sciences
Tom’s Areas of Expertise
- Qualitative and quantitative insight disciplines including brand/advertising, proposition development, segmentation, customer experience and communities
- Digital research with a focus on improving the online shopping experience
- Ability to quickly understand the broader business context and implications for research and recommendations
- Clear, simple, honest and pragmatic communication style leading to effective client and agency relationships
Jeff Valentine
Senior Statistics Consultant
Jeff is GBS’s statistics wizard and go-to resource for any statistical questions. With three-plus decades as a market research professional, Jeff uses innovative but robust approaches to produce actionable recommendations. He consistently delivers intuitive and compelling consumer insights across a variety of industries including food and drink, TV channels, retail, healthcare, gaming, blue chip manufacturing and the public sector.In addition to the project design, project management, fieldwork, data analysis and results debriefing that Jeff provides for his clients, he is also our go-to resource for any statistical questions or consulting that is required for GBS projects.
Expertise
Jeff’s Areas of Expertise
- Concept screening and overall NPD testing including test market
- Product testing (blind and branded)
- Using multivariate statistical techniques to enhance analysis of market research data
- Child and teen research
- Price sensitivity evaluation
Carol Wilson
Senior Insight Consultant
Carol has experience as a senior leader for international companies and has worked in market research and advanced analytics for the past 25 years. She spent several years extensively moderating focus groups in Europe, North America and South America, but currently focusses on quantitative research and advanced analytics.Carol is an engaging speaker, having presented at several international research conferences and national events including San Diego (USA), Lima (Peru), Marrakesh (Morocco), Toronto (Canada) and lately, at the DAPS event (Data Analytics for the Public Sector) on Customer Experience for Financial Services Canada where she presented the work she’s doing with her team with Predictive Analytics.
Education & Expertise
Carol’s Education and Associations
- M.Sc. Experimental Psychology and Statistics
- Certified Analytics and Insights Professional (CAIP)
Carol’s Areas of Expertise
- Advanced Analytics including Random Forest, Time Series Analysis, Regression Analysis and Natural Language Processing
- Questionnaire Design, tabulation and reporting
- Strategic planning
- Project Management
- Focus Group Moderation