Taverner's People

Executive Staff
Philip Mitchell-Taverner		Philip Mitchell-Taverner Managing Director Philip Mitchell-Taverner came into the market research industry in 1964, initially as a research assistant in Melbourne under the Ford Motor Company management scheme after graduating from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He maintained a direct involvement in automotive research over many years, both at the client and agency levels, as well as spending some time in the UK in advertising and product research. After 3 years as Victorian Area Manager with Australian Sales Research Bureau, Philip helped form and became a Director of Reark Research where he worked as a divisional manager in both the Melbourne and Sydney offices from 1975 to 1991. He helped form Ramis Corporation's Sydney operations (1991) and in 1995 set up his own full service Taverner Research business. Philip has extensive experience across both qualitative and quantitative research methods and this significant expertise has helped him in winning and managing projects across a very wide range of markets including industrial, FMCG, financial and business services, government and educational institutions at all levels. Philip is an elected Fellow of the Research Society (2005). More information...

Michael Trigwell		Michael Trigwell General Manager Michael joined Taverner Research in 2005 from the client side after holding marketing management positions at companies in industries as diverse as technology and remote communication and global manufacturing and marketers of heavy industrial equipment. His background in strategic marketing and product management brings valuable input to Taverner and our clients. He has vast experience in business-to-business markets and international business, and has been responsible for projects identifying new markets and business opportunities in a number of industries. Since joining Taverner, Michael has been involved in numerous research studies and has built up a loyal client portfolio across many industries by providing his clients with a hands-on and collaborative project management approach while always keeping his focus on the business issues his clients are trying to solve. His focus is always on providing knowledge and insights to add both strategic and real-time value to his clients’ businesses. More information...

Dr Don Porritt		Dr Don Porritt Senior Research Director Don has spent over 40 years specialising in market and social research including 15 years as a Director with AMR Interactive. He was a Foundation Member of the Australian Psychological Society, is a long term member of the market and social research society (AMSRS) and the Australasian Evaluation Society. Don’s practical experience and strong academic background adds value through his understanding and application of analysis and reporting techniques, with the latest developments in marketing theory. More information...

Connie Jansen		Connie Jansen Senior Research Director After gaining her degree in education at Iowa State University, Connie began her professional career as a teacher in the USA. Her career changed with a move to corporate training followed by research market analysis. Following further studies into statistics she moved into a research role in Australia with Taverner. Connie has been a Senior Research Director for over ten years specialising in Government and Social research with clients at Commonwealth, State and Local Government Level. She has the ability to quickly understand the needs of her clients and the issues relevant to the topic. More Information...

Sophie Philps		Sophie Philps Research Director Sophie has been actively involved in both qualitative and quantitative research for over 20 years. She began her research career at Reark Research in 1989 as a fieldwork supervisor and then Ramis Corporation as Telephone Services Manager. In 1995 Sophie assumed a simliar role at Taverner whilst also liaising directly with clients and preparing reports on research findings. Sophie was promoted in 1999 to the position of Project Director so that she could build her career in research management and client service. In so doing, Sophie applies her grass roots training in fieldwork. Her work now involves her in conducting depth interviews, supporting focus group facilitation, designing and analysing qualitative and quantitative studies and delivering presentations and reports to client management. Examples of clients with whom Sophie has direct consulting relationships are Sydney Water and Westfield. More information...

Debbie Owolabi		Debbie Owolabi Research Director - Healthcare Debbie is passionate about healthcare market research, her experience spans both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Her focus has always been on delivering customised solutions to clients, which typically requires a mixture of both disciplines. With a strong interest in drivers and motivations that underlie human behaviour, Debbie has conducted extensive research studies with GPs, specialists, patients, consumers and key opinion leaders. Debbie has 10 years experience in market research, the last 8 years has been focused exclusively on healthcare market research. Her experience covers a wide range of therapeutic areas, including asthma, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, osteoporosis, pain management, metabolic disorders, antibiotics, ophthalmology and infectious diseases (including hepatitis A-C and HIV). Her particular areas of expertise include market analysis, brand equity and positioning research, customer segmentation, communication and sales force evaluation research. More information...

Natascia Spadavecchia-Sanderson		Natascia Spadavecchia-Sanderson Research Consultant Natascia has over 6 years experience in market research with the last 4 years working exclusively on healthcare market research. She previously worked in the UK for Synovate Healthcare, Fieldwork International Healthcare, Datamonitor and ICM direct. After graduating in International Business Studies and Spanish language (BA Hons), she undertook a postgraduate course in International Business Administration (MBA) and begun her career as a field interviewer and moderator. She then progressed to a field and project manager level, followed by an analyst and research role. Her background in moderation, field management, as well as the full service environment, brings a very valuable asset to Taverner and its clients. With such a wide array of experience, Natascia possesses great acumen and problem solving skills which can be applied to a variety of projects and challenging situations. More information...

Sui Fong Li		Sui Fong Li Research Assistant Sui is a research enthusiast with a strong interest in Consumer Behaviour. Curiosity drew her into Market Research where she spent four years interviewing respondents of all demographics, geographic and psychographics. As well as being mentally stimulating, this experience proved invaluable in her role as a Research Assistant where an understanding of respondent engagement and effective data extraction is pertinent to effective research design. Her key strength lies in her ability to translate research findings into real-life implications for businesses, governments and not-for-profit organisations. Prior to joining Taverner, Sui had been working in the Insights team at one of Australia’s largest providers of insurance and roadside assistance, using her knowledge of analysis and reporting to deliver user-friendly research reports to internal stakeholders. To date, she has been involved in research areas within the government, social, retail, education, building and construction sectors and plays an important role in supporting her project director. Away from her desk or reading, Sui can be spotted enjoying live band music, long and interesting conversations over good coffee, yoga and travelling.