Foreman Takes the Chair at Expanding Bolt Insight

AI-moderated consumer research firm Bolt Insight has appointed former ESOMAR President Dan Foreman as Executive Chair. The firm says it is entering a new stage of growth and global expansion following an investment last year.

Bolt was established in 2019 and is led by co-founders Hakan Yurdakul (CEO), a former brand strategist at Unilever, and CTO Kerem Turgay, a Harvard and ETH Zurich-trained engineer with experience from Siemens, Coca-Cola and Afiniti. The firm now employs more than fifty people in offices in London, Istanbul, Paris, New York and Singapore. Originally focused on the BoltChatAI qual platform, last year it added <38369, and in December it announced a £7 million funding round. In May, the company launched an always-on platform called Bolt Intelligence, bringing together qual, quant, UX research and social listening in one end-to-end workflow; while spotting trends, making predictions and recommending research. It is currently going through a comprehensive brand refresh.

Foreman (pictured) brings more than 30 years of experience from emerging technologies, data, insight and developing markets, including support for businesses from early-stage ventures through to significant global scale. In addition to leading ESOMAR and founding TEDx Royal Tunbridge Wells, his roles have included serving as Chair of the Boards of Zappi and Bakamo Social; NED or advisory roles at Dalia Research, Veylinx, Borderless Access, Phebi, Haystack Multisensory Research, Course5i, Cross-Tab, VST (now Vazen) and Merlien. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Business Development at Lumi Mobile, and he held senior roles at ActiveGroup, Opinium, and FocusVision, WFCA, Incite, Added Value and Research International, as well as client side at Kimberly-Clark.

In his new role as Bolt's Executive Chair, he will work closely with the Board and executive team to provide strategic leadership and governance. Foreman says he was drawn to the company because it has 'never lost sight' of the fact that 'technology is a means, not an end.' He explains: 'Yes, the platform is best-in-class, but behind it is a team of people who have sat brand-side, who have lived the briefs, and who know what drives real decision making.'

Yurdakul comments: 'Appointing Dan is a milestone moment for Bolt Insight. He brings a rare combination of deep industry credibility, global relationships and genuine entrepreneurial instinct, experience across every corner of the insights world, from running major research organizations to advising and investing in disruptive technology businesses.'

The company is on the web at www.boltinsight.com .