Eric Marder would be high on my list. He wrote a fabulous book called the laws of choice. Brilliant and very creative researcher.

Ravi Venkitaraman would also be at my dinner. Ravi is currently down the freeway from you at Burke. We worked together while I was at MARC in the early 90’s. He’s just a very creative and brilliant guy and wonderfully quirky at the same time. He has conversation, in both research and outside it.

Tim Herrlich would also be there. Tim is also a brilliant quant jock with more than just research on his mind. He and I also worked together at MARC and continue our working relationship today. If we couldn’t come up with the best study design between me, tim and ravi, then it just couldn’t be done.

Lois Benedetti, who was my boss at GTE Directories when we won the baldrige would be my final guest. Lois had a fantastic way of getting everyone on board. she was tough but once you earned her trust she was supportive in all the right ways. I often say that she was my toughest boss and the one I learned the most from. Everything was a teaching moment for Lois. She’s also one of those bright shinning stars whose company you enjoy at work and away from the biz.

Unfortunately, I don’t get to that many conferences nor do I get to hear the speaches of people that I don’t directly know. while I have met Bob Lavidge way back when roger bacik introduced me in the late 80’s, we didn’t have enough time for me to become enamoured. I remember liking him without feeling in the presense of greatness. Which I always feel is a sign of a truly confident and great person.

Chris

My four people for dinner:

Daniel Starch - what was he thinking when he started this new business? Did he believe that we would always be talking at the C-level (as he was) and what would he make of the industrialization of the industry today?

Philip Barnard - my mentor, the first CEO (and creator) of Kantar and the inventor, along with Jay Wilson, of the global research industry. Phil is funny, wise, totally pragmatic and visionary

Jim Robinson, who died tragically young in September. Founder of Robinson & Muenster in S. Dakota, a Democrat pollster and lobbyist and leader of CASRO’s Government and Public Affairs Committee. Jim was responsible for saving this industry’s bacon in Congress more times than anybody knows. He was a hoot to dine with and almost got us shot in an Arizona restaurant when he challenged a redneck Republican by calling him an a**hole. He was incredibly funny and entertaining and had a host of war stories. I would like to hear them one more time!

Kit Molloy, another mentor and the founder of the company that eventually went on to become GfK-NOP. A suave and highly charming and entertaining gentleman in the old sense of the word, Kit was responsible for so many of the careers of people who went on to become famous in the European MR industry. He died last year and I would have liked to sit down with him one more time and ask him what really motivated him.

There are so many more, but these would be my top four.

And, of course, I do get to sit down to dinner regularly with one of the great legends of the US industry who now happens to be my business partner - Jay Wilson!

All the best,

Simon.

Rich Johnson - Founder of Sawtooth Software and a great contributor to bridging the gap between academics and practitioners in so many ways.

Paul Green - More than anyone, he has made marketing research a respectable profession with a basis in real science.

Phil Kotler - Phil has done more to integrate marketing strategy and marketing research than anyone I know.

Alfred Politz - I would have just liked to have known him, since he is one of the key founders of what we do today.