About
It was in late 2000s, during my undergraduate days studying psychology, when I realised that my innate curiosity for why people behave the way they do would last me a lifetime. After a few inspiring chats with seniors and alumni, I zeroed in on research as a career path for me.
I love that it enables me access to people, their lives, and ways of living in a way that only a few other careers can. And that by helping business better understand the people they design products, services, and experiences for, I can make life a tiny bit better for people in my own way.
Beginnings // My first research stint began with an agency-side role in London, subsequently leading to research roles in Mumbai, and Singapore. I travelled extensively, conducting research across South America, Europe, Africa, and South & South East Asia for the likes of Unilever, Twitter, Vodafone, Visa, Diageo, 3M, and many more.
For a decade, I spent a ton of time on field, observing, understanding, and learning immensely insightful things from people from all over, about seemingly inane stuff like how to get a shopper to pick a certain brand of toothpaste off the shelf, or the many ways in which Turkish women use bleach, to how dish washing dynamics differ with different cuisines and socio-economics of utensils used, and more. It was hands-on, time and effort intensive work but hugely rewarding to see the meaningful difference made in product, business, and marketing strategies as a result.
Present day // I have now taken on a more fundamental responsibility while adding a layer to my experience so far. That of cultivating a research culture, and setting up a research practice where none existed. In the process, I am learning more, beyond how best to conduct research, on how best to weave human insights into everyday decision making, and to influence foundational business and product strategies.
Beyond this obsessive love for research, I enjoy reading about the psychology of terrorism, and photographing quirky things (like this Stichodactyla gigantea or 'sea carpet anemone' seen below, captured during an intertidal walk).
