Meet our people

Our partners

Ken Fink-Jensen R of D, BA (Econ), FNZIM, FMRS
Partner

Email:
Phone:+64 4 462 6403

Ken immigrated to New Zealand from Denmark in 1956 and is the founder of Research New Zealand.

Ken began his career in social and marketing research at a leading market research agency in Wellington in 1969. In 1971 he was invited to be a director of the Heylen Research Centres, a company that pioneered social and marketing research in New Zealand and produced some of the country’s top researchers. Ken was the Managing Director of the Wellington Centre from 1978 until 1982.

In 1982 Ken joined the Department of Marketing at the Otago University as a senior lecturer and Chairman of the Department. At the request of the Minister of Trade and Industry, he took leave from the University in 1985 to assist in the establishment of the Deming Institute in Auckland. On returning to Otago in 1987, he established the Food Marketing Research Unit (FMRU) at the University, offering research and product development services to food and beverage manufacturers.

Ken returned to Wellington in 1990 and set up the Business Research Centre (BRC), which is now Research New Zealand. He is responsible for the main operational units of the company, financial management, and the company’s strategic direction together with the other Directors.

Ken is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management, a Fellow of the Market Research Society and a member of the Royal Society of New Zealand

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Emanuel Kalafatelis BA (Hons) Social Geography
Partner

Email:
Phone:+64 4 462 6401

Like Ken Fink-Jensen, Emanuel began his career in social and marketing research at the Heylen Research Centre. Joining the company in 1977, he was appointed Managing Director of the Wellington office in 1982. Apart from a brief time as a Strategic Planner and Consultant with DDB Needham in 1988/89, he remained at Heylen until 1992, when he joined Ken as a principal and Director of BRC, now Research New Zealand.

In his fourteen years with Heylen, Emanuel worked with a wide range of clients and developed a strong interest in the New Zealand psyche and in discovering how New Zealanders respond to their environment.

Researching New Zealand is very much the ethos behind Research New Zealand, and while much of Emanuel's time and expertise revolves around the management of the company, he is still very much a hands-on researcher, having direct input into most projects.

Emanuel is a regular contributor to National Radio's "Afternoons with Jim Mora", providing commentary on New Zealand social trends.

In 2006, Emanuel was responsible for initiating groundbreaking research into small business. Shattering the SME Myth is a three-stage research project that investigates small business from the perspective of small business owners.

Emanuel enjoys spending time with his family, and has a strong interest in motor vehicles, outdoor activities, gardening, good food and wine.

Emanuel is a member and past president of the Market Research Society of New Zealand, and a member of the Australasian Evaluation Society. He has also been a former New Zealand representative of the European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR).

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Corrine deBonnaire MA (Applied) Community & Clinical Psychology
Partner

Email:
Phone:+64 4 4626404

Corrine is responsible for Research New Zealand’s Qualitative Research Team. She has a background in clinical and community psychology and is one of New Zealand’s most experienced and leading qualitative researchers.

Corrine has an MA (Applied) in Community and Clinical Psychology and practised as a clinical psychologist in a psychiatric setting, before starting her research career at the Heylen Research Centre. Corrine was attracted to research because of the prospect of applying her knowledge of, and passion for, psychology in the cut and thrust of the business world. Heylen was tough and exciting, but most importantly, it provided Corrine with an apprenticeship in qualitative research second to none.

Having done her time at Heylen, Corrine decided to test and broaden her research skills within a corporate environment. Her first role was that of Research Manager at the Bank of New Zealand. She then went on to take up the challenge of establishing the Market Research Unit at Telecom New Zealand (at that time New Zealand’s biggest market research spender).

Following Telecom, Corrine headed to the United Kingdom and worked as a planner at BHWG, one of London’s most successful direct marketing agencies. When she returned to New Zealand in 1998, she joined the Board of Research New Zealand (then BRC) as a Director.

In her role as Manager of the Qualitative Research team, Corrine takes great pride in the consistently high quality of qualitative research that her team delivers, and she welcomes the challenges associated with helping clients to solve problems, and to identify and optimise opportunities.

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Anne Dowden BSc (Hons) Psych, MSc Psych
Partner

Email:
Phone:+64 4 4626405

Anne is responsible for the company’s Evaluation Team.

Anne has a significant history with Research New Zealand. She joined the company as a consultant in 1994, having completed her Master of Science degree in Psychology at the University of Otago in 1993. As a consultant, Anne was involved in a large number of public and private sector projects, assisting clients with quality improvement, strengthening customer services, and developing and monitoring campaigns, among other issues.

Anne began to focus on evaluation from the late 1990s, getting involved in the evaluation community, attending postgraduate courses, evaluation conferences and seminars wherever possible.

The Research New Zealand Evaluation Team was established in the late 1990's, and is one of the features of Research New Zealand that sets it apart from other companies. The members of Anne’s team have a wide range of skills, which allow them to relate to clients, as well as work closely with New Zealanders from many different social groups.

Since developing an expertise in evaluation,  Anne has worked on a number of large, longer term evaluation projects. To date, her work has had a focus on evaluation of programmes, initiatives and strategies in the health, education and social sectors.

As one of New Zealand’s leading evaluators, Anne believes that it is the evaluator’s role to take the voices and opinions of New Zealanders and use them. To this end, Anne and her team have developed strong working relationships with people all over the country, and have valuable links with a number of specialist Mäori and Pacific researchers and evaluators.

Having three young children, Anne’s interests outside of work are centred on entertainment that accommodates her family. Fitness and the outdoors are a big priority, and weekends and holidays will often find the family on tramping club outings with other families.

Anne is a member of the Market Research Society of New Zealand, the Australasian Evaluation Society and a founding member and board member of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (anzea). She is also a member of the Wellington Evaluation Group and Auckland Evaluation Group (now the Auckland branch of anzea).

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Mark Johnson BA (Economics & Music), MA (Social Theory)
Partner

Email:
Phone:+64 4 4626402

Mark is responsible for the company’s Business-to-Business research.

He joined the Research New Zealand team in 2003, having worked as the New Zealand Manager of Market Research at Westpac for several years.

Mark’s specialties lie in consumer, business-to-business, and financial services research. Since joining Research New Zealand he has designed and led many successful research projects for the company’s large public and private sector clients. There is nothing Mark likes more than being presented with a social issue, or business related problem, and designing a robust research solution that provides the client with the information they need to make a sound, well-informed business, or policy, decision.

Mark studied Economics and Music at the University of Nevada and went on to complete an MA in Social Theory at New York University. His main research interest continues to be socially oriented, which is well catered for at Research New Zealand.

As a researcher, Mark is conscious of how the output of any research will be used. He believes that one of the best aspects of working at Research New Zealand is knowing that a large amount of the work the company does results in social marketing and policy strategies, which can ultimately have positive implications for New Zealanders.

Living in Wellington’s CBD, Mark enjoys making the most of the many social and cultural events the city has on offer.

Mark is a member of the Market Research Society of New Zealand and the Australasian Evaluation Society.

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Our other team leaders and key people

Katrina Fryer
Research Director

Email: katrina.fryer@researchnz.com
Phone:+64 4 4626432

Katrina has worked at Research New Zealand for over 10 years and is primarily responsible for large-scale quantitative research projects.

She has particularly strong quantitative skills, and mainly specialises in the completion of customer satisfaction surveys, or quantitatively-based evaluation projects. Katrina’s experience is mainly based on work that she has completed for clients in the public sector, including ACC, the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education.

An interest in the social welfare of New Zealanders, in general, is a prominent feature of Katrina’s make-up. At Research New Zealand she has an important role as mentor to newer members of the team. This is a task that sits quite comfortably with her, and she especially enjoys introducing new people to the workings of the company and the special Research New Zealand culture.

Katrina has (almost) always lived in the Lower Hutt area and particularly enjoys painting, reading, travel and spending time with family and friends.

Although Rarotonga holds a special place in her heart, Katrina is forever planning a summer vacation further afield. The wish list includes driving to Vegas with her son in an old red convertible, sharing a glass of wine with her mother in Paris, shopping with a gaggle of girls in Melbourne or perhaps a bit of island hopping in Greece….

Katrina is a member of the Market Research Society of New Zealand.

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Jane Falloon BA Hons (1st class) Anthropology & Women’s Studies
Research Director

Email: jane.falloon@researchnz.com
Phone:+64 4 4626465

Jane joined Research New Zealand as a Qualitative Researcher in 1999 when the unit was initiated.

Jane holds a Bachelor Degree with First Class Honours in Social Anthropology and Women’s Studies from Victoria University. After graduating, Jane continued working with the Women’s Study Department and tutoring undergraduates at Victoria.

Following this, Jane began work as a Classification Officer for the Office of Film and Literature. As well as classifying publications, her work involved in-depth consultation with specially affected community groups. Jane continues to work for the Office as a Classification Officer on a casual basis.

Jane has significant experience conducting in-depth research for a range of public and private sector clients.  Her work includes group facilitation and individual face-to-face interviewing with her clients’ stakeholder groups.  Jane’s key interests include communications and branding research.

Jane is a member of the Market Research Society of New Zealand.

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Wendy Starkey
General Manager, Operations

Email: wendy.starkey@researchnz.com
Phone:+64 4 4626413

Wendy has worked at Research New Zealand for over four years and is responsible for all the support staff and day to day running of the company’s operations, including accounting and the financial information system. She is also involved with the recruitment of staff, and is the chairperson of the Health and Safety Committee and was responsible for achieving ACC accreditation in ‘Workplace Safety Management Practices’ at the tertiary level for the company.

Her direct reports are the reception staff, accounts staff, IT, CATI and field staff. 

Wendy also takes a strong interest in the development of the two First Foundation students who work at Research New Zealand during their holidays.  

Wendy lives in Brooklyn, but is and always will be a Cantabrian at heart, being born and bred in Christchurch.  Spare time is taken up with puzzles, reading and sharing quality time with friends and family, especially with her three grandchildren.

Wendy also does voluntary work for Asia New Zealand assisting with the Lantern Festivals in Auckland and Christchurch and Diwali in Wellington and Auckland.  Shopping in Melbourne with the girls is also another of Wendy’s favourite pastimes.

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		Debbie Cossar Information Manager
		Email: debbie.cossar@researchnz.com Phone:+64 4 462 6434

		Wendy Betham Project Co-ordinator
		Email: wbetham@researchnz.com Phone:+64 4 462 6390

		Pamela Fowell Senior Receptionist
		Email: pamela.fowell@researchnz.com Phone:+64 4 462 6411

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