Former IAB Exec Le Roy Becomes Gateway Research COO

Former IAB exec Gai Le Roy has joined eye tracking and biometric MR specialist Gateway Research, as Partner and Chief Operating Officer.

Founded in 2007 by former Harvard Medical School fellow Dr Peter Brawn, Sydney- based Gateway Research and its sister company Eye Tracker use visual science and data analytics techniques to measure and analyse a consumer's 'sensorimotor' and cognitive response to marketing stimuli. The firm's services and technology can be used to study the consumer experience, for research into in-store shopper and purchase behaviour, and for testing exposure to media and advertising concepts. Last year the company released a study called Shopper Compass, providing insights from an eye tracking study involving more than 300 in-store shopper sessions.

Le Roy (pictured) has been consulting with Gateway for the last six months and now joins on a permanent basis, with more than twenty years' research experience. Most recently, she served as Director of Research at IAB Australia, having re-joined the organisation in 2012 from Fairfax Media, where she had worked as General Manager of Audience Insights and Research. Earlier, she was VP Research at Nielsen Online and Insights Manager at ninemsn, prior to which she worked for the IAB, with a focus on simplifying online audience and media measurement.

Commenting on the appointment, Brawn said: 'Gai joins the business at an exciting time, the benefits of visual science research are now widely understood and embraced by marketers, and consequently the commercial appetite for this type of research is exploding. Gateway has deep ties in the FMCG and shopper research space, and Gai's appointment will help enrich our offering for our media and advertising clients'.

Web site: www.gatewayresearch.com .