Bolt Hires GM Europe

London-based, AI-moderated consumer research firm Bolt Insight has appointed Unilever veteran Robert Kitching as General Manager Europe.

The company's BoltChatAI qual platform uses AI to moderate real-time conversations, and features smart and dynamic probing, stimulus upload and multilingual capabilities - it has recently added Dynamic Personas and Meta-Analysis. In December the firm announced a £7 million funding round, part of which is earmarked for the development of an 'Assistant AI Chief Insights Officer', a real-time intelligence and decision-making partner.

Bolt is led by co-founders Hakan Yurdakul (CEO), also a veteran of Unilever (fourteen years in brand strategy and transformation); and CTO Kerem Turgay, a Harvard and ETH Zurich-trained engineer with experience from Siemens, Coca-Cola and Afiniti. Headcount has recently passed 50 and Bolt has locations in London, Istanbul, Paris, New York and Singapore.

Kitching (pictured) worked for the BBC World Service for four years in the 1990s, then joined Unilever where he spent the next 26 years in consumer insight roles rising from Manager to VP, covering sectors from homecare to foods, to beauty and personal care. He has been freelancing for the last two years. He has also served on the MRS Council.

Web site: www.boltinsight.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.