Chatter Hires Bertelsen to Build Usability Practice

US-based boutique qual/quant agency Chatter has appointed former Siegel+Gale Research Insights practice leader Lisa Bertelsen as a Partner, charged with building the firm's Usability and Customer Experience practice.

As well as providing a full range of research services, Chatter is known for its proprietary iPad focus group app 'Real-Time Chatter'. The firm was founded in 2002, and has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.

Bertelsen joins the New York office with more than eighteen years' market research, brand research and strategy, and usability experience. Most recently, she worked for Omnicom-owned Siegel+Gale, where she set up the firm's Research Insights practice. Prior to this, she managed her own firm LB Research Group, worked as VP of Qualitative Research at Ipsos, was the lead researcher for The Westport Company, managed the New York office of market research consultancy Vividence, and built Charles Schwab's first in-house usability and user research departments.

In her new role, Bertelsen will set up Chatter's Usability and Customer Experience practice, while also leading a variety of project types, including positioning, brand architecture, ad testing, and concept assessment, across a range of sectors.

Dan Lazar, Chatter's President, comments: 'Lisa is a rare market researcher who filters consumer insights through the lens of brand strategy and customer experience, and that's what Chatter is all about. For Lisa to also expand our services to usability testing is especially exciting for us and our clients.'

Web site: www.chatterinc.com .