Mark Shugoll is CEO
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Mark Shugoll is CEO of Shugoll Research, one of the nation’s top 100 marketing research companies according to Advertising Age magazine. Long noted for its exceptional quality of work, Shugoll Research is one of the highest rated marketing research companies for client satisfaction according to an authoritative industry customer satisfaction poll.

Prior to joining Shugoll Research in 1985, Dr. Shugoll amassed a dozen years of experience in the field, establishing his design, management and analytical expertise in qualitative and quantitative research for public and private sector clients. Dr. Shugoll received his Masters degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from American University.

Dr. Shugoll’s dedication to quality research is evident in the commitment he has made to the marketing research industry in the United States. He is a Board member of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), the leading industry association for full service marketing research companies. He serves as Chancellor of CASRO University, the industry’s internal education and training program.

Dr. Shugoll is considered perhaps the leading sports and entertainment marketing researcher in the United States. He has conducted major projects for a long list of sports leagues, individual teams, performing arts centers, non-profit theaters, symphony orchestras, opera companies, dance companies, choral groups and major presenting organizations.

In addition, he is devoted patron of the arts, serving his community as a member of the Board of Directors of Arena Stage, as well as Chair of its Communications Committee, and the national arts scene as a Board member of the Business Committee for the Arts. He is the founder of various award-winning arts education programs in Fairfax County , including ArtSpeak! which brings theater artists into local schools and TheaterTrips!, a program that underwrites theater tickets for socio-economically and racially diverse middle school and high-school students. These efforts have won him numerous awards for volunteerism nationally, regionally and in his community. He is also in great demand as a speaker at sports and entertainment conferences.

Merrill Shugoll is President
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Merrill Shugoll is President of Shugoll Research. She began her career in marketing research shortly after graduating with a language degree from American University. Marketing research was the perfect career choice for someone with her natural curiosity. Her unconditional positive regard for everyone makes it easy for people talk to her about anything. And her interest in discovering and analyzing how people think and feel provides the type of daily challenge she craves. Simply put, Merrill chose a career in marketing research because she couldn’t imagine herself enjoying anything more.

Today, Ms. Shugoll is a widely respected marketing researcher with 29 years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research that helps to shape the strategic planning of major corporations, not-for-profit organizations, trade and professional associations and government agencies. She is a nationally known moderator. She has become expert in consumer behavior theories and psycholinguistics and employs, when appropriate, state-of-the-art projective and ideation techniques to provide clients with an in-depth understanding of human behavior particularly with regard to new product development, issues management and communications.

Upon joining Shugoll Research in 1984, Merrill created the full service division of what was then a well-respected field service firm. Today, Shugoll Research is one of the Top 100 research companies in the country according to Advertising Age. Prior to joining Shugoll Research, Ms. Shugoll spent nearly a decade as the Senior Executive Officer of the research subsidiary of a major communications firm.

Over the years, Ms. Shugoll has contributed significantly to the profession. She is on the National Board of Directors of the Marketing Research Association, is a past president of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Chapter of the American Marketing Association and was a founder of that Chapter’s Health Care Division. Ms. Shugoll also is currently active in the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) and the Washington Ad Club, and was the 1991 recipient of the prestigious Frank H. Weitzel Award for her dedication of corporate resources to the American Cancer Society’s research needs. She is in great demand as a lecturer at colleges, universities and professional meetings and is frequently used as a resource for diverse publications including The Washington Post.

Passionate by nature, Merrill loves the theater, literature and music and she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Signature Theater. She shares this love of the arts with her husband, Mark, and their two daughters.

Sharon Stark - Senior Research Director
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Sharon Stark’s passion for marketing research evolved due to her fascination with the attitudes and opinions of people. By working in this field, she feels she is always learning something new, which, in turn, keeps her passion alive. She is responsible for all new business activities and proposal development at Shugoll Research where her duties include proposal writing, study pricing and costing, and tracking the status of all outstanding new business proposals. Sharon also manages research studies including research design and development, data analysis, report writing and account management. Sharon has extensive experience, both as a researcher and client, in using qualitative and quantitative research to develop, monitor and evaluate marketing and communications programs for a variety of consumer products and services.

Before joining Shugoll Research, Ms. Stark was a Research Director at The Futures Group where she managed the marketing research activities of a major international marketing project. She was also previously an Associate Research Director at DDB Needham Advertising, Research Manager at William Cook Advertising, the largest advertising agency in Florida, and Research Analyst at Union Carbide Agricultural Products Division. Ms. Stark holds a BA in English Literature, an MS in Library Science and an MBA. She is an active member and past president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Marketing Research Association and is also an active member of the American Marketing Association.

Outside of the office, she is very keen on anything and everything having to do with horses. She has had the same horse for a number of years and considers him one of the family. Sharon rides several times a week and visits her horse at the barn every day. She also enjoys traveling with her husband and spending time at home with their two Siamese cats.

Amy O'Connell - Senior Research Director
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As a Vice President at Shugoll Research, Amy O’Connell is responsible for all aspects of project management. She is a seasoned market research professional with over 20 years of experience, who considers extracting implications from data and proposing marketing recommendations the favorite aspect of her job. In addition, understanding why people make the decisions they do has always fascinated her and she relishes the opportunity to learn about human behavior every single day. Over the course of her career, Amy has moderated hundreds of focus groups and also has conducted many quantitative studies with a wide range of audiences including consumer and business to business. Amy works with high technology firms, oil and energy companies, government agencies and health care systems.

Amy is particularly well versed in communication and advertising research. Prior to joining Shugoll, she directed market research and account planning departments for a number of advertising and public relations agencies including Earle Palmer Brown, Porter Novelli and J. Walter Thompson. She holds a BA in Speech Communications from the University of Maryland and an MA in Rhetoric & Communications from the University at Albany.

In her spare time, Amy is a hospice volunteer and uses her facilitating skills to co-facilitate a bereavement support group for Hospice Caring.

Susan Lambert - Vice President
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As Vice President at Shugoll Research, Susan Lambert manages all aspects of Shugoll’s quantitative research.  She has more than 20 years of experience in market research, as well as significant experience inbusiness and strategic planning and database analysis and management.  Susan has a passion for market research that comes from bringing thevoice of the customer to her clients.  She is also a skilled analyst of very large databases, bringing information to her clients about the size, composition and trends of their business, customers and market place.  Susan is a strong believer that market research needs to be actionable and thus has used it effectively in quality improvement and strategic planning efforts.

Prior to joining Shugoll Research, Susan spent nearly 20 years on the client side of market research and understands the needs of our clients very well.  She also has C-suite experience and understands the business concerns of top executives.  Among her past positions are Georgetown University Medical Center, AT&T Wireless, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the marketing arm of the beef industry.  While at the Association, Susan managed the research and development of a new beef branding effort, which resulted in the award of a “Gold Effie” for advertising strategy from the American Marketing Association.  She holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Buffalo and an MBA from Marymount University as well as significant graduate work in information technology. 

Susan loves animals and in her spare time volunteers for the Denver Dumb Friends League.  She and her beloved cat make their home in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, outside of Denver.  She enjoys gardening and watching the deer that play on her lawn.  Susan also enjoys theatre and music, particularly jazz and classical music.

Sarah Mattes - Research Associate
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As a Research Associate at Shugoll Research, Sarah is responsible for managing and coordinating tasks for both qualitative and quantitative studies.  She works closely with our management team and service providers to ensure that project work is completed efficiently and accurately.

Sarah really appreciates how research contributes to advertising and marketing strategy development.  She sees a commercial and immediately begins to think about how marketing research may have guided the development of the message.  She is passionate about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into marketing, and enjoys the opportunities that market research provides for contributing to the success of the businesses we serve.

Sarah has a BA in Anthropology from St. Mary's College of Maryland.  In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors, attending concerts, or reading a good book.