Dr. Richard Vanderveer

Dr. Richard Vanderveer has been a recognized leader in the field of pharmaceutical marketing and marketing research for over four decades. The origins of his career began at Temple University, where he received a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. While at Temple, he honed his formal survey research skills as a Project Director for the University’s Institute for Survey Research, which conducted large scale survey research for the Federal Government and other clients.

Dr. Vanderveer then moved into the private consulting sector, becoming Director of Custom Research at IMS. A series of business roles followed. He is perhaps best known for his role as the founder of Physician Micro-Marketing Incorporated, where he developed processes for pharmaceutical companies to use in targeting and customizing their promotional efforts to the specific mindset of the individual physician.

His organizational career culminated in his role as CEO of GfK US Healthcare, where he directed and inspired a group of 225 marketing research professionals to leadership in his chosen field. As the US operating arm of GfK, the world’s fourth largest marketing research company, Dr. Vanderveer’s efforts, matching those of the pharmaceutical industry, rapidly took on an international scope.

Since retiring from his post at GfK, Dr. Vanderveer has had the luxury of studying the healthcare marketing scene at large, looking for “the next big thing” in pharmaceutical marketing. As the result of years of research, he has developed a world view that he calls “Mindset Marketing.” More specifically, he sees successful marketing being the result of a “lock and key” approach, where the pharmaceutical marketing message (the “key”) must fit perfectly into the mindset of the customer (the “lock”) if results are to optimized. While most of pharmaceutical marketing research has historically focused on sharpening the “key," little attention has been dedicated to gaining an in-depth understanding of the “lock,” i.e., the customer mindset. With his new colleagues at ThinkGen, Dr. Vanderveer is looking to correct that shortfall.

Dr. Neale Martin

Neale Martin, PhD is the author the best-selling book Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore, a pioneering re-examination of marketing in light of the revolution in neuroscience and cognitive psychology that reveals most of what consumers do is driven by emotion and other unconscious processes.

Dr. Martin co-founded Sublime Behavior Marketing to apply the tenets of habit marketing to the toughest challenges facing his clients, which include many of the largest consumer product, pharmaceutical, communications, and transportation companies in the world. At the core of Dr. Martin’s practice is a painstaking deconstruction of the conscious and unconscious drivers of current customer behavior, and the development of plans to alter behavior and create new habits.

Dr. Martin presents at major conferences around the world including Marketing 50, Brand Manage Camp, Product Development and Management Association, and the Shopper Marketing Forum. He has presented at private events for Eli Lilly, Procter & Gamble, Ubisoft, Coca-Cola, Verizon Wireless, Kimberly-Clark, CVS, Reliance Industries Limited, and Johnson & Johnson, and keynoted global marketing and brand events, including the Taiwanese Excellent Branding Association and the World Brand Congress in Mumbai, India. He has crafted and presented education programs for Eli Lilly, P&G, Campbell’s Soup, Axiata, and Godrej Limited. Dr. Martin’s held the position of Professor of Innovation at the Coles College of Management at Kennesaw State University.

Audrey Wu

Vice President

Audrey brings to ThinkGen over 15 years of experience as a product marketing leader who understands how to drive growth and tie marketing initiatives back to business objectives – successfully leading teams and enabling organizations to tell their story through all product, marketing and sales channels.

Before transitioning to client services, Audrey led commercial strategy and marketing as a Vice President for a biopharmaceutical company that supports the health of patients and families facing complex and potentially serious conditions. Audrey has proven experience in strategic marketing planning, customer insights generation, branding, product lifecycle management, and new product launches.

Audrey began her career in research & development, and pivoted to product management after earning her MBA. Her experience spans therapeutic areas in primary care and specialty environments, including women’s health, pain care, cardiovascular, and anti-infectives. She is most recently a Vice President, Managing Director for a consulting firm that helps biopharmaceutical organizations integrate the authentic patient voice throughout the product lifecycle.

Audrey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, where she was selected as a Dean’s Fellow.