Behind every successful research project, is high-quality and trustworthy participant recruitment. At the heart of our R&D market research facility is a dedicated team who make that happen, the people who ensure every test is built on the right voices, at the right time. From sourcing niche target groups to managing large-scale panels with care and precision, this team is central to the quality and reliability we deliver. Meet the recruitment experts who bring each project to life with their expertise, attention to detail, and unwavering commitment to getting it right.
Mark Smethurst - Sense:lab Operations Director
Mark joined Blue Yonder in 2019 with 20+ years of research operations experience. He’s a fieldwork specialist, having managed face-to-face, CATI, and online data collection processes throughout thousands of research studies during his career. Mark particularly enjoys building and developing leading fieldwork operations teams to deliver first-class fieldwork.
Outside of work Mark coaches junior football and enjoys the outdoors. Weekend camping and hiking is a regular feature of Mark’s summer months!
🎵Fun fact: Mark owns a didgeridoo and is marginally better than average at playing it. He also practiced aerobatics in his youth whilst in the Air Cadets; barrel rolls and loops being his favourite manoeuvers.
Louise Emmerson - Panel Executive
Louise is the newest addition to the Sense:buds team, joining as a Panel Executive from the Insight Lab. Her role revolves around everything to do with our consumer panel – from recruiting participants and assessing new recruitment channels, to making sure participants are getting the best possible experience. She also manage our social media accounts, promote new studies, and design engaging campaigns to connect with our audience.
When she’s not in work, she love to spend time with family and my two pet lizards. She also indulge in all things history and sometimes join 1940s themed weekends.
🎥 Fun fact: She once accidentally wandered through a film set in Paris mid-scene because she was too caught up in conversation… and got shouted at by the director.
Erin Wheatley - Trainee Panel Executive
As a Trainee Sense:buds Executive, Erins primary responsibilities are recruiting participants for projects while supporting overall panel maintenance and growth. This includes inviting our dedicated panel members to take part in studies, creating engaging content for social media and conducting face-to face recruitment to share news about upcoming studies and opportunities.
A key and integral part of her role is communicating with participants to keep them well-informed about upcoming projects and to ensure they have a positive, all-around great experience with us.
In my spare time she like to try new things and keep active.
Fun fact: I once spent two days kayaking down the rapids in the Ardeche in France. It was a challenging but fun experience!
Adam Pottage - Trainee Panel Executive
Adam has been around Sense:lab for just under 2 years, recently graduating from a Level 4 Market Research apprenticeship and bringing a sharp, analytical mindset to the Panel Executive team. With a passion for understanding what makes people tick, Adam is quickly becoming a go-to team member for keeping projects running smoothly and participants engaged.
Whether he’s liaising with the SenseBuds community or supporting the setup of live research sessions, Adam brings energy, curiosity, and a genuine interest in people to everything he does. His training has given him a solid grounding in the fundamentals of market research – and he’s already putting those skills to good use.
Outside the office, Adam is big into streetwear and loves to travel, especially to sunny, laid-back destinations like San Diego and Hawaii as well as snowy places like Finland and Iceland. A proud Leicester lad, he follows his hometown’s football and rugby union team religiously – always hopeful for another miracle season.
🐾Fun fact: Adam’s cat, Bonita, once accidentally joined a virtual research lesson, and managed to charm the entire class before being politely escorted off-screen!
Behind every successful research project, is high-quality and trustworthy participant recruitment. At the heart of our R&D market research facility is a dedicated team who make that happen, the people who ensure every test is built on the right voices, at the right time. From sourcing niche target groups to managing large-scale panels with care and precision, this team is central to the quality and reliability we deliver. Meet the recruitment experts who bring each project to life with their expertise, attention to detail, and unwavering commitment to getting it right.
Mark Smethurst - Sense:lab Operations Director
Mark joined Blue Yonder in 2019 with 20+ years of research operations experience. He’s a fieldwork specialist, having managed face-to-face, CATI, and online data collection processes throughout thousands of research studies during his career. Mark particularly enjoys building and developing leading fieldwork operations teams to deliver first-class fieldwork.
Outside of work Mark coaches junior football and enjoys the outdoors. Weekend camping and hiking is a regular feature of Mark’s summer months!
🎵Fun fact: Mark owns a didgeridoo and is marginally better than average at playing it. He also practiced aerobatics in his youth whilst in the Air Cadets; barrel rolls and loops being his favourite manoeuvers.
Dan Brennan - Panel Executive
Dan joined Sense:buds back in 2022, with the focus of expanding the research community. Since then he has overseen projects and helped over 5000 Sense:buds take part in the joys of product testing.
Coming from a previous marketing background, he has helped to create and design both social media content as well as the current Sense:buds website and has a keen interested in looking into ways to improve and optimise everything we do to make the participant experience the best it can be.
Outside of the office, Dan loves to explore new hobbies such as rock climbing, board games, and cooking, with his latest interest being 3D design and printing.
🎭 Fun fact: Dan has performed in local pantomimes, once playing the lead villain in the play “Tom Thumb”.
Louise Emmerson - Panel Executive
Louise is the newest addition to the Sense:buds team, joining as a Panel Executive from the Insight Lab. Her role revolves around everything to do with our consumer panel – from recruiting participants and assessing new recruitment channels, to making sure participants are getting the best possible experience. She also manage our social media accounts, promote new studies, and design engaging campaigns to connect with our audience.
When she’s not in work, she love to spend time with family and my two pet lizards. She also indulge in all things history and sometimes join 1940s themed weekends.
🎥 Fun fact: She once accidentally wandered through a film set in Paris mid-scene because she was too caught up in conversation… and got shouted at by the director.
Erin Wheatley - Trainee Panel Executive
As a Trainee Sense:buds Executive, Erins primary responsibilities are recruiting participants for projects while supporting overall panel maintenance and growth. This includes inviting our dedicated panel members to take part in studies, creating engaging content for social media and conducting face-to face recruitment to share news about upcoming studies and opportunities.
A key and integral part of her role is communicating with participants to keep them well-informed about upcoming projects and to ensure they have a positive, all-around great experience with us.
In my spare time she like to try new things and keep active.
Fun fact: I once spent two days kayaking down the rapids in the Ardeche in France. It was a challenging but fun experience!
Adam Pottage - Trainee Panel Executive
Adam has been around Sense:lab for just under 2 years, recently graduating from a Level 4 Market Research apprenticeship and bringing a sharp, analytical mindset to the Panel Executive team. With a passion for understanding what makes people tick, Adam is quickly becoming a go-to team member for keeping projects running smoothly and participants engaged.
Whether he’s liaising with the SenseBuds community or supporting the setup of live research sessions, Adam brings energy, curiosity, and a genuine interest in people to everything he does. His training has given him a solid grounding in the fundamentals of market research – and he’s already putting those skills to good use.
Outside the office, Adam is big into streetwear and loves to travel, especially to sunny, laid-back destinations like San Diego and Hawaii as well as snowy places like Finland and Iceland. A proud Leicester lad, he follows his hometown’s football and rugby union team religiously – always hopeful for another miracle season.
🐾Fun fact: Adam’s cat, Bonita, once accidentally joined a virtual research lesson, and managed to charm the entire class before being politely escorted off-screen!
