Professor Michael Hulme - Chairman, CSMTC Ventures
For more information about Michael, please see here
Dr Steve Smith - Group Research Director, CSMTC Ventures
Steve has eight years' experience of initiating, managing and delivering innovative qualitative and quantitative research projects around technologies and brands. Before joining CSMTC at the beginning of 2008, Steve was a senior researcher at the BBC, focussing upon understanding the changing roles given to and challenges facing vision content and brands in online environments. Prior to this, Steve was a researcher at StudioIncite in the Sociology Department of the University of Surrey, where he worked collaboratively with various commercial companies and public sector organisations to understand the importance and places that people give to information and communication technologies in their everyday lives. During this time, Steve also completed his PhD about how technologies can be understood through a sociology of branding.
In his role as Group Research Director, Steve oversees all research undertaken by CSMTC, the Social Futures Observatory and the newly launched Metaply, and continues the collaborative work we undertake with Lancaster University.
Dr Anna Truch - Director, SFO
Anna joined SFO in September 2007 after two years away from the CSMTC group working as a Senior Research Executive with the full-service market research agency, BDRC, in London. In her previous time at CSMTC she worked as Research Executive where her work included exploring the role of the mobile phone and other technologies in the creation of personal identity. This followed completion of her PhD in Knowledge Sharing in Organisations at Henley Management College where she also worked as a Research Fellow, conducting research projects for clients of the Henley Knowledge Management Forum.
Anna completed a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Oxford University, after which she joined IBM UK for three years, firstly as a graduate trainee and then as an Associate Consultant for the Telecoms sector working with worldwide clients on business and communication processes.
In her role as Director of the Social Futures Observatory Anna identifies and manages research into a number of key social issues while building links with research at Lancaster University.
Collette Wright
Collette graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in History from Lancaster University. Having recently begun a PhD in Sociology focusing on the intersection of ethnicity and sexuality in Britain, Collette's main research interests include multiculturalism, processes of identity construction and performativity, social and cultural behaviour, global mobility and virtual communication. Her work for CSMTC/SFO extends her predominantly qualitative research interests adding a commercial dimension focusing on social behaviours and understandings of digital technology. Collette's principal research areas include space, time, virtual community, social networks, self-presentation, self-authoring, augmentation, authenticity, trust, entertainment, communication, connectivity and interactivity.
Collette's work for SFO adds depth to our clients' understanding of the key social drivers conditioning the adoption, perception and modes of use of technological devices and services.