Kea Company is a people driven business. The quality of our people defines the service level we provide to our customers. For over ten years, we have recruited and developed some of the best people within the industry. They are intelligent professionals with an average of over twenty years hands-on experience in influencer marketing and business advisory.
Sven is Managing Partner at Kea Company and, as CEO, heads the global Kea Company Group. His day-to-day activities include, but are not limited to, managing the business operations and overseeing Kea Company service delivery and guiding the SageCircle subsidiary. Prior to taking full-time control at Kea Company Sven managed a value-added reseller chain, was responsible for Gartner's vendor clients at the European headquarters and was a senior manager at azeti Networks AG. Having worked with many start-ups and vendors, both in his time at Gartner and as an executive, he has accumulated a broad knowledge of the IT-industry. His experience covers the various areas of the IT-market (software, hardware, services and consulting) and provides a "multi-angle view" of the IT business from a channel, vendor, analyst and consulting perspective. Sven has more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and general management. Sven received a Master of Science degree in Business Management and Marketing from the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster.
Derk is a co-founder of Kea Company and supports startups and scale-ups creating mutually beneficial relationships with key industry analysts. As a former industry analyst himself, he thoroughly understands what makes analysts tick. Derk is a startup mentor in two leading startup accelerators: Techstars and Rockstart, and is an executive advisor to senior executives at enterprises, startups and service providers focusing on strategic challenges around emerging digital services and products, digital business transformation, supplier relationships, contract negotiations, governance, commercial models, and technology. Derk is fascinated by the creation of ecosystems, building bridges between organisations and people to form true partnerships, the role new technologies play in the way we organise our businesses and societies. His aim is to be a positive factor in these transformations, as an entrepreneur, an advisor to startups and corporates, a collaborator and sharer of knowledge.
Robin Schaffer guides analyst and influencer relations teams in strategy, execution and value creation. She has led transformative analyst relations and marketing leadership for three decades. Her varied background enables Robin to design Analyst Relations programs that help reach her clients business objectives focusing on measurable outcomes and real-world results. Her prior experience in the technology industry includes Unit4, NICE Systems, and AT&T. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from William Paterson University of New Jersey with a bachelor's degree in English. She is the author of Analysts On Analyst Relations: The SageCircle Guide.
Ai Inouchi has been an Advisory & Business Partner of Kea Company since 2016, providing analyst relations service in Japan. Her expertise includes strategic, cross-cultural communications, influencer relations, market entry strategy development, issues management, and project management. Prior to becoming a consultant, Ai has worked for global financial institutions including BlackRock and State Street for over 15 years, in communications, business management, and product development roles. She is fluent in both Japanese and English and is passionate about bridging cultural gaps for clients.
Toralf Lahs has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry ranging from working with technology providers and users during his 5 years at Gartner to setting up a distributor of IoT solutions and from introducing and managing a leading European eCommerce platform to the UK&I to being a board advisor for a best-of-breed provider for wireless smart building tech, as well numerous business development and sales roles. Toralf is an entrepreneur at heart and is always looking at new technologies and at connecting businesses for mutually successful outcomes. Having lived and worked in a number of European countries he enjoys cultural diversity and different ways of communicating and conducting business.
Heather Haas has more than 20 years of experience in global corporate communications, public relations and analyst relations. She has worked for and with a number of world-renowned consumer and technology companies including Symantec, McAfee and Intel. Prior to becoming a consultant, Heather headed analyst relations and market research at McAfee. She has well established relationships with many of the technology industry’s most influential analysts. Heather brings a high level of expertise and experience in analyst relations strategy and has also worked extensively with C-level executives, indoctrinating them into analyst interactions through webcasts, strategic advisories, and meetings with senior management at large analyst firms.
Cassandra Allen has nearly 20 years of marketing and analyst relations experience on both the client and agency side in organizations ranging from boutique wineries to the third largest communications agency in the world. Starting in 2011 at Razorfish, she single-handedly created and managed the Analyst Relations program that consistently resulted in the agency being rated at the top of the digital marketplace worldwide.
With skills in strategic influencer relations, relationship marketing, event and project management Cassandra has also trained an ever-expanding and evolving team of executives to optimize interactions with analysts. She has provided invaluable direction on industry analysts, key to the success of engagement with analysts in areas of commerce, digital experience and innovation consulting.
Andrew Reed has been with Kea Company since 2014. His area of expertise is Analyst Relations, and in particular relationship management for key industry analysts who influence enterprise software purchases. Prior to his current role with Kea Company, Andrew has spent over 18 years in corporate communications and marketing, including 6 years at FileNet, where he led the Analyst Relations programme. After IBM's acquisition of FileNet, Andrew was instrumental in managing their Analyst Relations programme for enterprise content management, successfully maintaining leadership positions in key signature research reports.
Stacey Alexander has been a Business Partner of Kea Company since 2016. Her specialties include, but are not limited to, Influencer Relations and Relationship Marketing. Prior to her consulting career, much of her experience came from working with The CIO Executive Council, Gartner and SageCircle where she provided direction to invaluable information on industry analysts and resources that are key to the success of IT enterprise architecture and business strategy efforts.
Emily Almond joined Kea in 2017 having been selected as one of the top students in a Business Management course run by a Kea consultant. Working part-time, she has assisted in the coordination and operation of large projects the company undertakes while continuing her studies. Working at Kea has been a fantastic opportunity for Emily and she was excited to share her knowledge of the biotech industry in Kea's research on life science sector. Education: Biological Sciences with Management BSc Hons, The University of Edinburgh