Justin Ibbett is the founder of Focaldata and a pioneer in AI-driven research. He's advised major political parties, the UK Cabinet Office, and leading brands including O2, AB InBev, and M&C Saatchi. With an MPA from LSE and Columbia specialising in Bayesian statistics and machine learning, Justin combines cutting-edge AI methods with human judgment to help organisations understand people and make smarter decisions.

Ollie has 12+ years experience building products and scaling consulting teams. Before Focaldata, he was Head of Strategy and Product at S-RM, a £70m+ revenue global cyber and intelligence consultancy for Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 businesses.

Richard has 25 years experience of leading high growth entrepreneur led businesses. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he has worked as a professional investor in the private equity industry, an executive director of a successful VC backed business (sold to Microsoft), and now he works across a small portoflio as an independent non-executive director, adviser, and investor to companies such as SwiftKey, Speechmatics, and Cytora.

Ben brings 20+ years of business development and client relationship expertise to his new role at Focaldata. With a passion for helping clients use data and insight to support them in making the right commercial decisions, Ben will be helping to drive forward the development of Focaldata's client partnerships.

Before joining Focaldata, Manon was an analyst at a polling startup, primarily serving government and non-profit clients. Before that, she was an editor at GRI, a leading global political analysis publication. She has a BA in History and Politics and an MPhil in Political Science from Cambridge.

At Focaldata, James leads our strategic campaigns. Previously, he was Head of Campaigns at Onward, one of the most influential think tanks in Westminster and worked in the Investor Relations division for a boutique Real Estate Private Equity investor.

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Prior to joining, AJ worked in similar commercial and people focused roles across other startups and professional services organisations. She is originally from South Africa and completed her studies in Psychology at the University of Pretoria.

Before joining Focaldata, Jasper drove community and marketing for ClimateImpact's invite-only forums connecting climate tech scale-up founders with investors, corporates, and policymakers. Before that, he co-founded Myteria Minds, a circular economy startup nominated for the Earthshot Prize, and was selected for the Blackstone Launchpad Fellowship. He has a BA in Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin.

Before joining Focaldata, Aya was a Senior Associate in Client Service at AlphaSights, the leading expert network, where she advised large-cap and mid-market private equity clients on diligence. She holds a BA in Politics and International Relations and an LLM in Law and Business.

A former technical co-founder, Tung has spent eight years shipping mobile, SaaS, and AI products — and still builds his own AI apps outside work. He trained at École 42 and holds a BSc in Investment & Financial Risk Management from Cass Business School

James was Head of Analytics at Populus and founded a polling startup before joining Focaldata. Along the way, he's advised political and business leaders from around the world on public opinion and society – and originated the concept of the "Red Wall".

Ian is MD Research at Focaldata, having spent over 20 years building and leading research functions across agency and client-side roles. His background spans telecoms, energy, transport and consumer brands, giving him a broad, cross-sector view of how research drives business decisions. He joins Focaldata to bring that cross-sector view to bear on delivering insight that genuinely moves clients' strategy forward.

George joined Focaldata in 2020 and leads our research team. George is a winner of the prestigious MRS Advanced Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice Award. He previously worked at polling firm ICM Unlimited. George has a BA in Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) from Cambridge.

Matt is a Associate Director in our research and analytics group. Originally from South Africa, he’s held various academic and consulting roles in the UK and RSA, including as an associate at the economic consultancy Genesis Analytics. He has a PhD in Philosophy and an MSc in Behavioural and Economic Science (University of Warwick) and an MCom in Economics (University of Cape Town).

Anna is part of our data services group. Before joining Focaldata, she previously worked at IFF Research where she specialised in delivery of large quantitative projects. Anna has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Birmingham.

At Focaldata, Callum drives data-led strategies across political and corporate sectors. Previously, he was the Senior Political Data Scientist at JL Partners, where he developed the most accurate model for the 2024 US Presidential Election, as well as pioneering the use of machine learning in election predictions. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times. Callum holds an MPhil in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Southampton and a First-Class MSci in Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London.

Simon joins Focaldata from the Civil Service, where he was a Lead Social Researcher at MHCLG supporting communities policy. Prior to this, he worked on all things social and political research at ICM, Savanta ComRes, and Edelman Intelligence. Simon has previously worked with a range of national media, political parties, think tanks and campaigning organisations. He holds a BA in Politics with International Studies from the University of Warwick.

Patrick is a prominent data journalist in the UK, whose work has appeared in a variety of leading outlets such as The Economist, UnHerd and The Times. After graduating from King’s College London, Patrick worked in the UK parliament and for a prediction market platform, before joining the Focaldata team in spring 2024.

Duncan has over five years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research, primarily across financial services, environmental issues, and consumer behaviour. His expertise spans a range of methodologies, from fast-paced omnibus studies to in-depth consultancy projects. His most notable career achievement is managing and overseeing the delivery of the Charities Aid Foundation’s 2025 World Giving Index – a global study with over 50,000 respondents. Duncan holds an MA in British Politics and Contemporary History from King’s College London.

Lily is a Research Manager in Focaldata’s Social & Political Consulting team. Since joining in March 2025, she’s led insight and strategy work for global foundations, nonprofits, political parties, commercial organisations and communications agencies across the UK, Europe, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. In previous roles she delivered evaluations for New Zealand government departments and led internal strategy development within the UK nonprofit sector. Recently, she presented findings from a 34-country study with the Rockefeller Foundation at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. Lily holds a Master of Commerce in Economics from Victoria University of Wellington.

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Nick did a graduate scheme with Chime Communications before becoming a brand consultant. He has led project management on quantitative based research such as consumer segmentations, product innovation, and multimarket brand trackers. Before joining Focaldata, Nick worked as a psychologist within the NHS.

Matthew is a Research Manager in our Analytics team. He previously worked as a pollster at Deltapoll, and has contributed political analysis to BBC Radio, Newsnight, and the Channel 4 election night coverage. Matthew holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and an MPhil in Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin.

Jack is a Research Manager in the social and political consulting team at Focaldata. He previously worked as a Strategy and Research Manager at Survation and as Head of Office for an MP. Jack holds a BA in Human, Social, and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and an MSc from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied as a Thouron Scholar.

Phoebe serves as a Research Manager within Focaldata's Data Services team, bringing five years of expertise in the market research sector. Prior to joining Focaldata in early 2026, she held the position of Research Manager at Ipsos (formerly BVA BDRC), where she was based in the Financial Services and Business team. Phoebe holds a BA in Economics and Management and an MA in International Political Economy from the University of Newcastle.

Sophia is part of our Research Consulting team. Before joining Focaldata, she worked in the policy and public affairs team at Portland Communications. She has an MSc in Politics & Human Rights from the London School of Economics.

Sophia is a Research Manager within Focaldata's Data Services research team. Prior to joining Focaldata in May 2026, she was a Senior Research Consultant in the US, where she partnered with consumer-facing brands across a range of industries. In 2024, she was recognised as a finalist on the Greenbook Future List, which celebrates emerging leaders in the insights industry. Sophia holds a BBA in Economics with Minors in Marketing and Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Prior to joining Focaldata, Cora worked in the United States managing investment and political analysis for a business membership organisation to support the relationship between politics and the business community. Cora completed a B.A from Trinity College Dublin in Philosophy and Political Science and a M.Sc. in Applied Social Data Science from the London School of Economics.

Bogdan is a member of our data services team with over 7 years of market research experience at Toluna and Human8. He holds a BSc in Psychology from the West University of Timisoara and an MSc in Applied Psychology from Babes-Bolyai University, Romania.

Lewis Kitson is a Client Account Manager with two years of experience in market research. They’ve developed a strong track record of delivering tailored insights and building lasting client relationships. With a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) from the Open University, Lewis brings a solid understanding of market dynamics and client needs.

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Ruby is part of our Research Services team. Before joining Focaldata she worked as a social and political researcher at Deltapoll, where she managed both quantitative and qualitative projects. Ruby holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Paula is part of Focaldata's Research Consulting team. Before joining Focaldata, she worked in behavioural science consulting, applying experimental design and data analysis to solve business challenges across sectors including financial services, media and technology. She holds a BSc in Psychology from UCL and an MSc in Behavioural Science from the London School of Economics.

Tobin is part of our data services team, working closely with clients to scope research and turn it into robust data. He brings 11 years of market research experience from Kantar, spanning survey design, data quality assurance and delivery across UK, US, European and APAC markets.

James is a Senior Research Analyst at Focaldata, having previously worked here during his PhD doing quantitative analysis on the UK, EU and French elections that took place in 2024. Prior to Focaldata, James worked for NHS England in various policy and strategy roles. He obtained his PhD in politics from the University of Manchester and he holds a BA in History & Politics from the University of Warwick and an MPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford.

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Tony is a member of the Focaldata research team. He brings experience in AI training and quality assurance, and holds a BSc in Mathematics from Durham University with a focus on machine learning and neural networks.

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Nicholas is a Junior Data Journalist at Focaldata. He previously worked at Onward, one of the most influential think tanks in Westminster, as a Researcher and Data Analyst. He holds a BA in History and Politics from the University of Warwick where he co-founded the Warwick Speak Easy initiative.

Slava is the frontend tech lead at Focaldata. Based in Ukraine, Slava has 9+ years experience in product development and software engineering. He has an MSc in Economic Cybernetics from the Kyiv National Economic University.

Andrei is a frontend engineer at Focaldata. Based on Timisoara, Romania, he has 8+ years experience in software development. Andrei has a MEng in Computer Software Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Timisoara.

Ben is one of the leading MRP specialists in the UK. He has a PhD in MRP from Royal Holloway, University of London and an MA in Social and Political Theory from the University of East Anglia. He previously worked in data analysis at Populus for three years.

Joshua is a fullstack engineer at Focaldata. He has 8+ years experience in product focused engineering teams. Joshua has a BEng in Computer Systems Engineering from University of Birmingham.

Reece brings experience across diverse industries, including health, legal, and e-commerce, to their role. They earned a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Kent and enjoy caring for their six rabbits in their free time.

Peter is a lead backend engineer at Focaldata. Peter was part of Focaldata’s team that delivered MRP analysis during the 2019 General Election. Before Focaldata, Peter was a data scientist at Photobox, an online photo company (owner of Moonpig). Peter has a PhD in condensed matter physics from the University of Cambridge, and an MSci in theoretical physics from Imperial College London.

Nate has 10+ years experience building web applications using modern tech stacks. His experience spans startups, digital agencies, and major companies like The Times. Nate is actively involved in public service and serves as a local councillor in east London for the Green Party.

After studying a BSc in Neuroscience at King's College London and working in digital marketing, Kyung moved into software engineering once she realised she could automate away many of the boring parts of her role. In addition to marketing tech, Kyung has worked in finance tech for a small start up and e-commerce tech for the meal box company Gousto, where she built features for the platform that enabled expansion to it's first international country.

Alicia supports the development and design of Focaldata's agentic AI research platform by combining domain knowledge and product insight with technical competency. She began at Focaldata as an intern in 2021, progressing from the research team to product manager of the core quantitative platform before joining the FDAI team. Prior to Focaldata, she worked for the Royal Society of Arts and holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the University of Warwick.

Aaron is a frontend engineer at Focaldata. He previously worked at healthtech startup Thriva Health as well as co-hosting his own podcast called The Third Wheel. He has an MEng in Computer Science from the University of Warwick.

Adam is a backend and devops engineer at Focaldata, having previously worked on Focaldata's MRP offering. He joined from the University of York where he was awarded a PhD in Mathematics. Before his PhD, Adam completed a Masters of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.

Thea is a software engineer in the engineering team. She previously held a data science role at martech startup Ocula Technologies. She has an MEng in Engineering Mathematics from the University of Bristol.

Rowan is part of the team building Focaldata AI, our agentic research platform, applying domain expertise to product development and UX. Before joining Focaldata, he worked in consumer insight, consulting across a wide range of sectors. He holds a BA in Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) from the University of Cambridge.