Sima Vasa is a multi-faceted business leader in the market research and analytics space. Her broad range of expertise centers on P&L management, operations, business development, marketing, entrepreneurship to investment banking. Currently, she focuses on advising clients on overall business strategy, evaluation of strategic options, and execution of investment banking mandates via Oberon Securities, a middle market investment banking firm.

In addition to her professional endeavors, Sima is an active Women in Research executive member, serves on the Port Washington Public Library board of trustees as an elected official, and previously sat as the Chairman of SampleCon. Frequently taking the stage at national technology and market research conferences, Sima is the host of her own podcast, Data Gurus, which has received national recognition as one of the leading podcasts in the market research and data ecosystem vertical. Sima continues to serve on the board of directors of Paradigm Sample, a company that she co-founded.

She earned her MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business, her undergraduate degree from Drexel University, and she’s a former member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO).

Dana Kim is founder and CEO of Highlight, an agile in-home product testing platform. Dana spent 5 years at a boutique insights agency as a qualitative and mixed-method researcher for years, where she saw firsthand the difficulty of product testing. Determined to build a solution, Dana then got her MBA at The Wharton School, where she built Highlight: a high-growth research tech startup disrupting the in-home usage test and physical product research space. Highlight's platform streamlines everything from recruit to data set, including all the logistics of getting your product to your target customers. It boasts 90% survey completion rates, can get product in hands in days, and seamlessly collects targeted feedback at scale.

Originally from Albany, NY, Rebecca Vega received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Hofstra University and her Master’s in Data Mining & Predictive Analytics from St. John’s University. Upon graduating, she spent 5 years working in Client Development and Product Development at the NPD Group, with a core focus on Luxury, Fashion, and Beauty. Her in-depth experience growing up the the market research world led her to pursue a career in CPG at Unilever, with a continued focus on data driven insights. Leading Category Management for Textured Hair, she provided thought leadership and strategic guidance as the cornerstone for growth within the multicultural hair care industry over the past 2 years. Rebecca supported major retailers such as Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Sam's Club, and Whole Foods in addition to Unilever brands such as SheaMoisture, Dove, Suave, Nexxus, and TRESemmé. 


Her collaborative, cross-functional, and inclusive approach has been instrumental to the category’s success, leading to her recent promotion to deliver best in class execution across the Beauty Channel. Now as the Customer Business Manager of ULTA, Rebecca is excited to utilize her extensive background in consumer behavior and insights to drive profitable sales growth across their Omni-channel platforms.

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