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ABOUT JEFF DUVALL, FOUNDER and CEO
So,
who is this Jeff Duvall character?
OK, here's the simple version:
Hi There. My name is Jeff Duvall. As the saying goes
some
of you know me a lot, some of you know me a little, and some
of you don't know me at all. After a LOT of consideration,
learning, experience and reflection, I had a moment of clarity
a few years ago (in the movies, this would be the scene, about
half-way through the movie, where the "hero's journey"
begins
cue the music): I realized that I love to LEARN,
I love to TEACH, I love to SHARE, I love to HELP and I love
to pay my mortgage. I am at my best when I can be continuously
LEARNING, TEACHING others in the process, SHARING what I think
could best help others reach their goals, HELPING people in
win/win manners, and doing all this while being pragmatic
in the process (the "paying the mortgage" part).
My focus is on helping brand teams, organizations and companies
by converting complex consumer and marketing challenges into
actionable and understandable opportunities.
Why Me?
Something you should know up front: I have pursued a background
that is neither better nor worse than anyone else's, but it
is truly different. My interests, learning curve and journey
have included the earning of several academic degrees, ranging
from a bachelor degree in Marketing (from Miami University
in Ohio), graduate degrees from the University of Connecticut's Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (yes,
I was interested in the whole sustainable/eco/green/environmental
area long before it was cool) and, separately, another grad
degree from the Department of Economics (funny how you rarely
meet rich economists in academia).
I
am now complementing these degrees with a PhD degree in Sociology
from Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta. This Sociology
doctorate is really interesting because it focuses in areas
of family dynamics, health and life course (translation: learning
about the stressors and considerations and potential for empathetic
intervention relating to different age segments
from
birth to death
from conception, adolescence, young adulthood,
middle age, retirement, post-retirement to elderly issues).
Add in some social psychology, and you have a really cool
program.
And while we all know some "career students", I
have also been lucky enough to repeatedly earn my stripes
in the "real world" for more than 15 years in some
unique roles with some very unique organizations. This includes
time as a economics researcher at the Food Marketing Policy
Center at the University of Connecticut (slinging some anti-trust
and food/beverage research while navigating through the insanity
of ivory tower academic egos and politics), Information Resources,
Inc (at the time, the largest marketing research company in
the US) supporting the P&G business (P&G = largest advertiser
and purveyor of packaged goods on the planet), and many years
in the Global Marketing and Insights group at The Coca-Cola
Company (Coke = #1 Brand in the World
thanks Interbrand).
With
over 15 years of real world marketing and consumer insights
experience, I saw firsthand the roles, complexities and impact
of quantitative research, qualitative investigation, trends,
foresights and innovation process supporting consumer understanding
and marketing strategy.
And in between the cracks, while working, I was fortunate
enough to teach at the college level in Economics and Sociology.
Personal favorite is my Social Problems course, in which I
help students to understand, deconstruct, empathize with,
and develop ameliorative thinking and strategies around social
issues like the environment, sustainability, public health,
obesity, epidemics, poverty, aging issues, racism, religious
issues, and gender bias. I love being in a position to help
others relate to these topics and thinking through options
for helping in meaningful and pragmatic ways, as well as what
they, as specific individuals, are capable of doing to impact
change.
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