Our Team

Harvey has earned a reputation among his many Fortune 500 clients for accurately translating how shifts in consumer behavior can be converted into solutions for overcoming growth and innovation challenges. Since founding the company in 1989, Harvey's been the soul, inspiration and charismatic force guiding Hartman Group's success. Under his leadership, Hartman Group has become recognized as the leading authority on consumer culture in America.

With a knack for seeing what others can't, the media frequently turns to Harvey for thought-provoking insights and commentary on the influential factors at play in a consumer-driven marketplace. His insightful quotes regularly appear in the national media including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, and USA Today. He is a well-known speaker regularly called upon to deliver keynote presentations at industry conferences, business school lectures, and client summits around the world.

Harvey's extensive international expertise in research, cultural branding and shopper insights have been used to help clients advance their business initiatives, including Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch, ConAgra Foods, Nestle, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Walmart, McDonald's, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

A former Fortune 500 senior executive, Harvey is the author of four marketing texts, including Reflections On a Cultural Brand and A Brand Called Hope: Reimagining Consumer Culture.

Harvey consults to senior executives across industries in consumer packaged goods, retail, food and beverage, food service, hospitality, personal care, and pharmaceutical.

Harvey received his Bachelor of Science in Business and Marketing from St. Louis University.

As President and COO, Laurie Demeritt provides strategic and operational leadership for Hartman Group's research and consulting teams. Laurie and Hartman Group analysts are recognized for their unique ability to blend primary qualitative, quantitative and trends research to help clients develop successful marketing strategies by understanding the subtle complexities of how consumers live, shop and use products and how to apply that understanding in ways that lead to purchase.

A nationally recognized authority on consumer behavior, Laurie is highly sought after as a keynote speaker at industry conferences and client events. Her insightful quotes appear frequently in national media and industry journals such as The New York Times, National Public Radio, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Progressive Grocer, Food Business News, Forbes and many others.

Early in her career at Hartman Group, Laurie paved the way to innovate a new way to understand consumer behavior in what has become known as the Hartman World Model, a type of segmentation based on consumers' level of intensity in a given "world of activity" rather than standard demographics. Clients have found this proven worldview approach highly successful and inspirational in innovation, building brands, new product development, creating compelling product and retail experiences, and developing marketing strategies that connect with consumers and engage shoppers.

Laurie received her MBA in Marketing and Environmental Management from the University of Washington and her BA in Political Science from Cornell University.

Michelle is the Senior Vice President of The Hartman Group. Since joining The Hartman Group in 1999, she has managed the ethnographic, retail, trends and innovation consulting divisions of the company and pioneered new ways to leverage professional anthropological analysis and creative fieldwork techniques to help clients' efforts in truly understanding consumer behavior and long-term implications of cultural change. She currently oversees the Business Development, Marketing & Communications divisions incorporating innovation and analytics into business strategy. Michelle has consulted with food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical and technology companies across retail channels in developing both strategic and tactical direction in today's marketplace.

Prior to joining The Hartman Group, Michelle owned a design and branding business and has 18 years in the health and wellness arena as both a practitioner and analyst. With a doctorate in sociocultural anthropology and extensive work in communications and consumption, Michelle has co-authored two books with The Hartman Group: Reflections on a Cultural Brand and Marketing in the Soul Age, and has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, Oxygen, as well as in national and industry publications as a thought leader in human behavior and cultural trends.

• PhD Sociocultural & Medical Anthropology, University of Washington
• MA Sociocultural Anthropology, University of Washington
• BA Sociology/Anthropology, University of Washington
• AAA Visual Communications, Art Institute of Seattle

With over 15 years experience with interactive communication tools and web environments, Joelle leads The Hartman Group's interactive services, including its online panel, social media campaigns and technology solutions. She previously directed all communications projects for The Hartman Group, including editorial content and calendars, and was the editor of HartBeat, The Hartman Group's weekly online newsletter. Her previous experience includes working as an English educator in public schools, focusing on writing instruction and interactive learning, and as a program manager for various non-profit, educational programs.

• BA English, University of Illinois
• BA Education, Illinois State University

Cindy Robideau has participated in numerous areas of the company since its inception in 1989, including qualitative and secondary research, account management, and finance and administration. Cindy currently oversees Human Resource activities for The Hartman Group.

• BA Education, Purdue University

Leadership Team

James has helped the Hartman Group pioneer new consulting frameworks to help clients meet their growth objectives in the packaged food sector. Much of this work has centered around Hartman's unique Culture of Food model for re-framing how food companies understand their portfolio of categories. In addition, he has led client work on occasion-based strategy, a critical tool in mature food markets like the U.S. He draws on his doctoral training as a cultural anthropologist and nearly 8 years of market research and consulting experience for CPG and retail clients. When he's not managing consulting teams, he works closely with the research side of Hartman to develop new analytical tools to help drive growth in a rapidly changing consumer culture.

• PhD Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• BA Anthropology, Harvard University

With a background in applied social psychology, Shelley has an informed understanding of social and cultural influences, group processes, and organizational dynamics. She has experience with a variety of qualitative methods, in particular, focus groups and ethnography. Her research has focused on women's health, sexuality, and empowerment. Shelley has served clients in healthcare, social services, education, technology, manufacturing, and food and beverage.

• PhD Applied Social Psychology, University of Windsor
• MA Applied Social Psychology, University of Saskatchewan
• BA Psychology, University of British Columbia

David Moore oversees the statistical analysis of consumer attitudes and behaviors with respect to health and wellness. He has over ten years of experience in statistical consulting and applied research, including sampling, multivariate analysis, event history modeling, and demographic methods. His research interests include investigating lifestyle and cultural influences on the development of cardiovascular disease, and modeling changes in individual behavior over the life-course.

• PhD Sociology, University of Washington
• MA Sociology, University of Washington
• BA Sociology, Reed College

Generating interest and growing awareness for The Hartman Group’s services and products is Blaine’s responsibility. He oversees the creation and direction of newsletter, website content, marketing collateral, handles media relations and supports business development. Blaine’s marketing experience includes brand strategy and management, business-to-business, business-to-consumer, marketing effectiveness analysis, consumer packaged goods, restaurant, travel and tourism, hospitality, supermarket, retail, internet, email, and guerilla marketing. He has made significant writing contributions to internationally published books and articles on brand development and strategy and customer satisfaction.

David's background includes both academic and a business-centered explorations of cuisine, retailing and the culture of consumption. Prior to joining The Hartman Group, David was Director of Market Research at RealNetworks, where he delivered insights to guide brand strategy, advertising, product development and subscriber retention for market-leading online music, video and gaming services in the US and Europe. Earlier in his career as a professional marketing consultant, he led numerous research studies for banks, tradeshows, e-commerce sites, and food and hospitality businesses. David frequently inspires audiences with innovative presentations at conferences such as IIR's Market Research Event, Ad:Tech and the Advertising Research Forum.

• BA Philosopy, Princeton University
• Doctoral program in Political and Cultural Geography, University of Washington

June is focused on understanding food in culture (i.e., everyday eating practices, health and wellness, food identities, taste and desire). Her areas of expertise are consumer insights, innovation, ethnography and focus group moderation. Her previous work includes creative and strategic planning at the agency side to implementation through wholesale, retail and online channels. Her thesis is entitled, “Food and Fantasy at a Dinner Party in South Korea,” and she is editor/translator of Cultural Life in Korea: Scenes from Everyday Life.

• MA East Asian Studies, Harvard University
• MA Korean Studies, Yonsei University
• BA Humanities Honors, University of Texas

Debbie comes to the Hartman Group with 20 years of experience in accounting. Combining her diverse experience and expertise in various aspects of accounting practices and procedures, Debbie handles all financial activities for The Hartman Group. She enjoys the day-to-day challenges that come her way; her strong people skills combined with her software expertise make her a welcome addition to The Hartman Group.

• BS in Office Management, University of Texas at El Paso
• CPA