Meet The Team
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Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.
The company's expertise includes new media, digital entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.
Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, and Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer.
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Tricia Parks is the founder and CEO of Parks Associates, a market analyst and research company dedicated to providing meaningful information and counsel to companies offering technology-based products aimed at improving people's lives. She presents worldwide on consumer trends, market requirements, and industry structure, with an eye to meshing visionary and progressive ideas to consumer needs and wants.
Parks Associates hosts CONNECTIONS™, an international conference and showcase for the digital home hosted in the U.S., and CONNECTIONS™ Europe, hosted in Europe and focusing on market opportunities for digital products and services in the many nations of Europe. Tricia Parks also developed the Relevancy Theory, a forecasting model for sales across a broad range of digital electronic products and services.
Tricia has served on a variety of industry boards including CEA's Home Networking and Information Technology division, the National Research Council's Committee for a Partnership to Assess Technology for Housing (PATH), the AMD Board of Global Consumer Advocacy, and CABA. Tricia Parks has a BA from Sweet Briar College and graduate studies from the University of Texas.
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Stuart Sikes is the president of Parks Associates, a market research firm specializing in consumer adoption of technology products and services. Stuart and team assist clients around the world by predicting trends in consumer technologies and identifying evolving business models. The Parks Associates team serves the world’s leading semiconductor, software, consumer electronics, telecom equipment, and entertainment companies, providing them with industry analysis, consumer research, and go-to-market recommendations. Stuart’s recent industry presentations include the outlook for residential energy management, new business models for the connected home, and the evolution of new video services.
Stuart has served technology companies for over twenty years, designing technical service, software, and hardware solutions for companies ranging from global semiconductor manufacturers to one of the nation’s largest airlines. In his positions with companies including AT&T, NCR, OpenConnect Systems, and Intelligraphics, Stuart’s roles have included sales, product marketing, marketing communications, and executive management.
Stuart holds an MBA from SMU and a BA in economics from Vanderbilt University.
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John Barrett, Director of Consumer Analytics
John Barrett currently analyzes digital media and international trends for Parks Associates and also heads the company’s consumer research team. He regularly advises companies from both the content and hardware industries on their digital media strategies and has authored dozens of industry reports.
He holds an MA in international economics from the Johns Hopkins University: School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BS in international affairs from Georgetown University.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: International Research, Digital Media, Mobile TV, Social Media, User-generated Content, Web 2.0
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Twitter ID: @melissaduchin
Melissa Duchin currently studies home energy management and home controls. Her work involves research into smart grid technologies, initiatives for shifting electricity usage, and home area network (HAN) developments. Prior to joining Parks Associates, Melissa conducted research, developed reports, and marketed at a start-up company in Dallas.
Melissa earned her BA in mathematics and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.
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Yilan Jiang, Manager, Consumer Research
Yilan currently studies the digital entertainment industry with a focus on consumer digital media habits and trends in multimedia application and services. She also assists other Parks Associates analysts in a wide range of research projects. She has worked on numerous primary consumer and industry research projects, including conducting global consumer research on digital technology trends and adoption.
Yilan earned her MA in economics from University of Texas at Arlington and BA in economics in Nankai University, P.R. China.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Consumer research and adoption patterns, PC Usage, Multimedia Applications and Services on Fixed CE Platform and Mobile Devices, Internet Applications
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Twitter ID: @JenniferMKent
Jennifer Kent is part of the Digital Health and Mobile Product research team. She studies mobile industry trends including wireless carrier strategies, next-generation networking, and mobile consumer devices. Her digital health research focuses on digital health records and devices, fitness and wellness applications, and mobile healthcare trends. Since joining Parks Associates in 2009, Jennifer has also worked on the consumer research team, analyzing consumer data related to various areas of the digital home and consumer electronics industries.
Jennifer earned her BA in politics from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and her MA in church-state studies from Baylor University in Waco, TX. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Baylor University for a PhD in Religion, Politics and Society.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Digital Health Products and Services, Portable and Mobile Access Platforms and Applications
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Tom Kerber, Director, Research, Home Controls & Energy
Twitter ID: @TomAKerber
Tom has been a client of Parks Associates’ REM service (2010) while serving Lennox Industries as Corporate Director, Advanced Engineering and as Director of Product Management.
Tom has previously worked in the utilities industry, the consumer goods industry and for Motorola in the telecom industry.
He holds a MS in Software Engineering from the University of Texas and a BS in Systems Engineering from the Unites States Naval Academy.
His roles in product strategy for a home controls company as well as experience in the utilities industry and the telecom space provides him with very strong qualifications to serve our energy and home controls clients’ needs.
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Twitter ID: @PMacchiarella
Pietro Macchiarella joined Parks Associates following an international career in the wireless industry. He has worked in management-level positions throughout Europe and the U.S.
In his role as a research analyst, Pietro covers home entertainment media with specific focus on video gaming, digital music, 3DTV, and connected CE devices. Pietro’s research interests also include global residential energy management, with a particular focus on international deployments.
He earned his degree in business administration from Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He also has an MBA from Iona College in New Rochelle, NY.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Video Gaming, Digital Music, Connected CE devices, Mobile Services, 3DTV, Residential Energy Management
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Terry Mikelk, Associate, Computer Modeling
Terry Mikelk is a data processing expert with 30 years experience providing insight and direction on data processing at companies with $1 million to $1 billion in revenues. He has worked in both the manufacturing and service sectors and is currently a professor of computer science at Mountain View College.
Terry has produced all the computer forecast models for Parks Associates since it was founded and is a frequent contributor on survey analyses.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Terry served in Vietnam during that war. He received a postgraduate degree in information systems from the University of Texas, and he is currently working on a PhD in marketing systems.
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Patrice Samuels studies video and television services across global markets, with a focus on market trends, business models, and operator strategies. Her work involves research into OTT video, pay TV, and broadband services in major markets across North America and Western and Eastern Europe. She also explores events and disruptions in North America's highly active online video market.
Patrice earned her MBA from Texas A&M University at College Station and BSc. in Psychology from the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Television Services, Broadband Services, Online/OTT Video Services, International Markets
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As a director of research at Parks Associates, Brett Sappington is an expert in worldwide television and broadband services. His research focuses on the activities and trends among operators and the market forces affecting their businesses. Brett is a regular speaker and moderator at international industry events.
Brett has spent over eighteen years in the industry as an analyst, executive manager and entrepreneur. At Parks Associates, he tracks television and broadband services and leads a team of analysts that examines digital media services. Previously, he founded and served as vice president for Teligy, a software company specializing in software for wired and wireless communications systems. Brett established new divisions for networking and audio/multimedia software for Intelligraphics. He has also been involved in the development and marketing of early-market products for 802.11 wireless networking, VoIP, and other technologies.
Brett holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in high-tech marketing and a BA in physics from Baylor University.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: International Digital Living Trends, Television Services (IPTV, cable, satellite/DTH, terrestrial/DTT), Broadband Services, Multiscreen Services, Value-added Services, Cloud-based Consumer Services, Set-top Boxes, Residential Gateways, Electronic Program Guides, Video Search and Recommendation, Video Metadata, Middleware
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As an analyst with the Parks Associates research team, Hema focuses on tracking trends and activities in the broadband and television services markets worldwide. She has a particular interest in analyzing market trends and business strategies in the personal cloud technologies and services space. Her work involves research on international digital living trends in major markets across the world. Prior to joining Parks Associates, Hema tracked the alternate energy market at Frost & Sullivan and worked with personal care brands as an analyst at Millward Brown.
Hema earned her MMR (Master of Marketing Research) from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and an MMS (Master of Management Studies) from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani in India.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Broadband Services, Personal Cloud Technologies and Services, International Digital Living Trends
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Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst
Twitter ID: @kescherf
Kurt Scherf studies developments in home networks, residential gateways, digital entertainment services, consumer electronics, and digital home technical support services. Kurt is the sole author or contributing author/analyst to more than 80 research reports and studies produced by Parks Associates since 1998.
Kurt joined Parks Associates following a career in political research and multi-tenant dwelling management. He earned his BA from The University of Iowa.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Home Networks & Residential Gateways, Home Networking Media (Wi-Fi, UWB, HomePlug, HomePNA, MoCA, etc.), Media Center PCs, Set-top Boxes, Networked Consumer Electronics, Consumer Storage, Media Server Hardware and Software, Consumers and Digital Entertainment, Television Services, Broadband Video, Digital Home Customer Support Issues
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Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research
Twitter ID: @HarryatParks
Harry Wang studies the consumer electronics and entertainment service industries with a focus on portable CE hardware, software, and associated applications and services. He is also the lead analyst for Parks Associates’ digital health research program. Harry has presented his research in numerous industry events including CES, Digital Hollywood, Photo Marketing Association Annual Show, American Telemedicine Association Annual Show, World Health Congress, and Parks Associates’ CONNECTIONS™ conferences.
Harry earned his MS degree in marketing research from the University of Texas at Arlington. He also holds an MBA degree in finance from Texas Christian University and a BA degree in international business from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, P.R. China.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Digital Health Products and Services, Portable and Mobile Access Platforms and Applications, Digital Imaging Products and Services
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Heather Way studies digital media advertising services and platforms as well as consumer research focusing on digital entertainment, digital media habits, and consumer purchase processes.
Prior to joining Parks Associates, Heather worked in the Dallas-Fort Worth media market for thirteen years, holding positions as Director of Advertising, media planner and buyer, national sales representative, and training coordinator. Most recently, Heather taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of North Texas.
Heather earned an MS degree in Radio, Television, and Film from the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, and holds a BS in Mass Communications from East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: Digital Media, Emerging Advertising Technologies, and Digital Video Advertising
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Arthur has served information technology companies for over 20 years. He has a long experience with business development of software packages, documentary information systems and ERP- and outsourcing solutions. International experience was build up by Arthur during his period working as business development manager EU for SSI, a subsidiary of the Shell Group, and working with a digital home lifestyle company that sold solutions to national and international project developers as well as consumers. Now he coordinates the work for Parks Associates in Europe as EU Research Representative.
Arthur holds a master's degree in business economics from the University of Amsterdam.
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Eli Lund, Business Development Associate
Twitter ID: @thuermann101
Eli Lund joined Parks Associates in 2010 following his graduation from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he earned a Bachelor in Business Administration with a minor in psychology. As a member of the business development team, Eli assists our clients' with their market research needs.
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Jason Paris, Business Development Associate
Jason Paris joined Parks Associates in 2007 as an analyst studying international telephone, cable, and satellite providers and is now a member of the business development team.
Jason graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in psychology and government. After working for the Texas House of Representatives, Jason spent the previous seven years in New York City working with portable and enterprise healthcare technologies.
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Stephanie Scala, Marketing and Business Development Associate
Twitter ID: @StephanieS_2011
Stephanie joined the Parks Associates team in 2011 as a Communications Intern. In that role she assisted with marketing and social media promotions for the company and managed all trade agreements with supporting organizations and media. In late 2011 she began transitioning her role as an intern into event sales and marketing, where she is now a member of the business development and marketing teams.
Stephanie earned her BA in journalism from the University of North Texas with a concentration in advertising and a minor in marketing.
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Rob Sukhija, Business Development Associate
Rob Sukhija joined Parks Associates in 2007 following a career in IT and home automation with both manufacturers and distributors of high end products and technologies. Rob is currently part of the business development team assisting our clients' market intelligence needs. He earned his BA in Social Sciences from University of California, Irvine.
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Linda joined Parks Associates in 2007 as office manager. She is charged with the management of all accounting tasks (including accounts receivables and payables), administrative support for the sales and marketing teams, management of Human Resources for the company, and general administrative duties for the company.
Prior to joining Parks Associates, Linda served in multiple management roles for corporations located in Texas and Florida. Those positions included sales/operations manager for a Dallas electronic sales organization, operations/office manager for a leading sign manufacturing company, and southeast regional manager for a medical company in St. Petersburg.
She earned a BA degree in Secondary Education from Spring Arbor College.
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Twitter ID: @elizparks
As the Vice President of Marketing, Elizabeth develops and implements an integrated strategic communications plan for Parks Associates. This includes overseeing the advertising, public relations, and marketing campaigns for research and events produced and hosted by Parks Associates. She also supports Parks Associates' Business Development Team with with perspective client searches, overall support, and maintenance of Parks Associates' databases.
Elizabeth is the key organizer for all of Parks Associates' events, including CONNECTIONS™. Elizabeth joined Parks Associates on a full-time basis in 1998 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in psychology.
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Twitter ID: @hollywsprague
Holly Sprague began working with Parks Associates in 2007 and manages public relations activities and media outreach. For the last 14 years, she has managed successful public relations campaigns for high-tech start-ups, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies (including Dell, Motorola and Sprint). Working for several years with PR agencies including Public Strategies, Inc. (PSI) and Metzger Associates, and as Deputy Press Secretary for the first Hispanic candidate in the historic 2002 Texas gubernatorial election, Holly brings extensive communications experience to Parks Associates. She began independently consulting consumer and technology clients in 2006.
Holly graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Journalism degree.
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Twitter ID: @mindisue00
Mindi Sue executes and oversees Parks Associates’ public relations efforts, which includes helping to increase local, trade, and national media recognition for Parks Associates' research and events. Mindi Sue is also responsible for coordinating speaker relations activities for Parks Associates’ conferences, which includes managing speaker inquiries and coordinating speaking opportunities for the Parks Associates' hosts events. Mindi Sue also helps promote press coverage at Parks Associates’ executive conferences, Webcasts, and workshops.
Prior to joining Parks Associates in early 2008, Mindi Sue worked with ad agencies, start-ups, consulting firms, retail stores, nonprofit organization, and real estate companies in designing profitable sales and creative marketing programs. Mindi Sue has an MBA from University of Texas at Dallas and a BBA in Management Information Systems from Texas A&M University.
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Nick Thrash, Director, Marketing and Event Logistics
Nick's primary duties are handling the logistics for Parks Associates’ events and marketing efforts. He organizes and maintains vendor relationships for all trade shows that Parks Associates participates in, including CEDIA and The Consumer Electronics Show. Nick provides logistical support to all sponsors and speakers at events and workshops hosted by Parks Associates. Nick is the primary contact for event sponsors regarding exhibitor logistics and fulfillment of sponsorship benefits at CONNECTIONS™. In addition, Nick manages the distribution of Parks Associates’ research materials to individual and Client Service accounts.
Prior to joining Parks Associates, Nick worked with a full-service advertising agency and graphic design firm. Mr. Thrash has a BBA in marketing from Texas Tech University.
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