About Me
I explore the science of consumption—how people make choices, why they trust some brands over others, and how values shape behaviour in the marketplace. My expertise lies in branding, sustainability, and political marketing, three domains where consumer psychology plays a decisive role. Whether examining how companies recover from crises, why emotions drive sustainable behaviours, or how ideology influences responses to corporate actions, my research reveals the deeper patterns that define what it means to be a consumer today.
Beyond academia, I am the Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Practices in Research and Enterprise (INSPIRE), a centre dedicated to bridging research, practice, and policy on sustainability and responsible management. I also co-created the Great Canadian Brand Index (GCBI), which measures how strongly Canadians perceive brands to reflect national values like friendliness, honesty, and sustainability. Both initiatives bring rigorous scholarship to public discourse, offering tools and insights for businesses, policy-makers, and communities.
I am the author of several books, including Managing Brand Crises: A Guide to Navigating the STORM (Business Expert Press, 2025), which offers a framework for navigating reputational challenges, and Consumer Behavior in Practice: Strategic Insights for the Modern Marketer (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024), which translates cutting-edge research into applied strategies. I also co-authored Consumer Behaviour: Asia-Pacific Edition (Cengage, 2020), a leading textbook in the field. Collectively, these works reflect my commitment to producing knowledge that is both theoretically meaningful and practically relevant.
My Company and Other Projects
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Brand Dummy
Brand Dummy is a strategic consultancy that helps organizations pressure-test their messaging, decode behavioral friction, and build trust that holds—especially under scrutiny. We go beyond surface-level analytics to uncover how audiences actually think, feel, and act, then design modular, resilient messaging that performs when it matters most.
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Great Canadian Brand Index (GCBI)
The GCBI is a perception-driven framework that evaluates Canadian brands based on public trust, cultural relevance, and strategic resilience. Unlike traditional rankings, the GCBI focuses on how brands align with Canadian values and respond to reputational pressure, offering insight into their symbolic strength and emotional resonance. It serves as both a diagnostic tool and a narrative lens—helping organizations understand not just where they stand, but why it matters.
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Institute for Sustainable Practices in Research and Enterprise (INSPIRE)
INSPIRE is a research initiative housed at the Ted Rogers School of Management that explores how behavioral insights can drive credible, people-centered sustainability across business, policy, and finance. It brings together scholars and practitioners to decode how signals—like ESG ratings, climate disclosures, and consumer trust—translate into real-world decisions. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, INSPIRE develops frameworks, diagnostics, and strategic tools that help organizations embed sustainability into their core operations.