MRSpride Stars: Daniel Cunill
28 July 2020

Daniel Cunill was born in Barcelona, Catalonia. He earned his degree between two different countries, which gave him the chance to study in international and diverse environments. Since the beginning of his career in research he has worked with new methodologies - first online, then mobile and later with all sorts of innovations. He likes learning about new technologies and data and especially loves helping clients integrate these technologies into their current research techniques.

Daniel is Head of Market Research Services at Bilendi UK, a proud member of the MRS Pride steering group and an MRS Mentor.

I wish someone had told me at the beginning of my career what market research really was. I studied Business Administration in Barcelona and in Sweden and even if market research was one of the many subjects covered in these degrees, I didn’t realise the role that our industry really has in society until I started working in it.

I most admire all those people who fight daily for the rights of others - people who risk their lives helping refugees, supporting LGBT or BAME rights and many other initiatives even if they do not belong to those communities. Should the world have more allies, I am sure it would become a much nicer place to live.

Market research has had a complete transformation in the last twenty years. The disruption in our industry created by the integration of new technologies and solutions has enabled researchers to understand consumers better. From my point of view, the next disruption will come from the integration of big data and data analytics to the insights provided by questionnaires. It will be increasingly difficult to get answers from long questionnaires in the future and therefore we need to strive to find better, alternative sources to get the insights of the future.

My resilience tips for when times get tough are: Believe in yourself and find support and strength from those next to you.

The most amazing or memorable experience when I was doing research was the first time I spoke at an ESOMAR conference. It was the first time I presented in front of a large audience and that morning I was terrified. Probably not my best presentation, but definitely the one that I have the best memories of.

To me, great leadership looks different depending on the situation and context that an organisation is facing. However, whatever the situation a great leader will always see the potential strengths of every individual in the team and will provide support on the challenges that each individual faces in their role and in the organisation. This also means making sure that every member of the team feels appreciated, integrated and accepted.

The main challenge in building a more inclusive world is bringing a high-quality, inclusive, plural and public education to every single corner of this planet. It may sound like a political pledge, but I am absolutely certain that providing a better education to our children would enable us to remove many of the prejudices that our generations still have. 

If I wasn’t doing this, I would be a pilot. In fact, I am studying for my PPL (Private Pilot License) and I hope to fly the skies very soon. Anyone keen to join?