Sydney, May 18, 2010 – Global interactive research and technology firm Vision Critical welcomes Daniel Alexander-Head and Bala Rajan to the team. Alexander-Head, who joins as Engagement Strategy Director, and Rajan, who will lead the qualitative business for Australia and New Zealand, will both be based out of the company’s Australian headquarters in Sydney.

“We’re having fun building a team of forward-thinking research leaders and both Bala and Daniel have exactly what’s needed to help clients innovate and engage with consumers,” says Peter Harris, Vision Critical’s Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Australia. “They have the knowledge, experience and drive to bring the conversation between customers and brands to the next level of engagement.”

Daniel Alexander-Head has worked within the Australian research industry for the past five years – most recently as Community Strategy Director with Colmar Brunton, spearheading online customer communities and online panel research. He pioneered the successful development of Australia’s first online customer communities for clients such as Virgin Blue, Virgin Management, Suncorp, News Corp, Subaru, Tourism NSW and the ATO.

Alexander-Head is one of the industry’s leading thinkers on customer communities and regularly speaks at marketing and research conferences. He also has a personal blog where he shares insights for brands wanting to connect with customers and stakeholders: www.social-zen.com

Bala Rajan’s 11 years of market research experience includes a post-grad degree in Management Studies, with a major in Marketing, and extends across a rich variety of research studies: from brand equity, communications research, motivational studies, kids research, usage and attitudes to segmentation and concept testing.

His passion for qualitative research has exposed him to a range of experience in verticals that include telecommunications, banking, finance, automotive, beverage, packaging, IT, engine oil, consumer durables and tobacco. He enjoys experimenting with traditional qualitative principles in MROC and other online mediums.

Vision Critical is a world leader in global online panel research. With offices in North America, Australia, the UK and France, the company will soon roll out its interactive research solutions to The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Spain. Globally, the company hired 109 employees in 2009, with another 90 new staff members in 2010, to date.