Hi, I’m Merje*

I'm a research leader with a (healthy?) obsession for research that changes things.

* It’s pronounced “merrier”

How I work

I've spent 15 years turning complex problems into something organisations can act on, and building the internal capability for them to keep doing it themselves.

Research is only as good as the impact it has. I don't believe in research that goes nowhere. Doing research that matters means understanding what it's feeding, from service design and CX to the direction of the business itself, what risks it's there to reduce, and where the boundaries of the possible are within an organisation. Those boundaries can be challenged, but only once they're understood. My research has driven a startup bank's strategic pivot and shaped the roadmap for a telco that went from last to first in its market.

That's also why I care about what surrounds the research: a clear strategy, a way of building evidence over time rather than starting from scratch each time, and researchers who are supported to do good work. I've set up research functions at several companies, and making the gaps visible tends to make the case for resource on its own. For a recent client, it secured additional researchers and funding to extend the work.

I started at Skype during the hypergrowth years, built and ran my own consultancy for nearly a decade, and have since worked across government, global retail, financial services and early-stage tech.

  • "What was particularly valuable is how Merje communicated out to the wider organisation, including Board iNEDs, to educate them on our target market, the emotional problems they faced with interest based banking and what made our proposition unique"

    —Shahzad Ali Enver, CEO, Vemi Money

  • "Merje turns first-contact chaos into clear next steps. At Glafos she ran the early prospect calls, teased out the real pains, and distilled them into a roadmap we could actually ship. She’s direct, steady, and keeps the team focused on evidence over hunches."

    —Triin Uustalu, Founder and CEO, Glafos

  • "Merje delivered service design and research training with our company with exceptional results. Her extensive knowledge and expertise shone through in every session. She expertly guides participants through complex methodologies while making them practical and actionable."

    —Amit Patel, Creative Director, ExperienceHaus