MRII is pleased to share our spotlight winner of the MRII Emerging Markets Award in Asia Pacific: Aashish Bhardwaj, Director of Field Operations, Global Supply at InnovateMR. Aashish leads the fieldwork and sampling behind complex multi-market studies, from CATI to B2B and healthcare research, coordinating across time zones to keep projects running. He will receive two free Principles Express courses to further sharpen his tools and impact.
The MRII 2025 Emerging Markets Award, presented in partnership with the University of Georgia and Esomar and sponsored by our partner OvationMR, celebrates the dedication and achievements of its recipients, showcasing their potential to shape the future of market research.
What motivated you to apply for the MRII Emerging Markets Award?
I had heard about MRII in the past years, however before last year- I didn’t have the opportunity to look into the specifics. Last year, when I signed up to the Newletters and once I read into it — the University of Georgia partnership, the caliber and the profile of the people involved- it seemed like something that I wished to be a part of and be associated with. I have been following the work MRII has been doing over the past year, and this award seemed to be one of those opportunities that felt like a natural next step in my growth.
I work a lot in the operational/fieldwork side of research, so I or my team members usually don’t always get pointed toward programs like this or feel drawn to such spotlight, which made it feel worth the effort. MRII and the University of Georgia are names that carry real weight in this industry, and I knew that engaging with their programs would sharpen both my technical skills and my perspective as a researcher.
What does it mean to you that you were selected as an Award winner?
Still sinking in a bit, if I’m being honest. It’s genuinely humbling. Beyond the personal recognition, it means a lot to see opportunities like this becoming more accessible to researchers working across the globe. A lot of what I do now, day to day is behind the scenes — global supply, fieldwork logistics, sampling across time zones — work that keeps studies running but is easily overlooked recognition on its own. So, this felt like validation not just for me, but for that side of the industry in general. I hope it encourages others on operational and fieldwork-focused teams to see themselves as researchers too, not just the people executing behind the scenes.
Tell us about your motivations for pursuing an MR/Insights career!
I’ve always been drawn to the why behind decisions — why people choose one product over another, why a market behaves differently than expected. I got into this field somewhat by way of operations rather than a straight line into insights. But the longer I’ve been in it, the more I’ve realized how much the fieldwork shapes everything downstream- a badly designed survey or a rushed CATI process can quietly wreck an otherwise good study. I like being the person making sure that foundation is solid, especially on complex, multi-market projects where a lot can go wrong. Working across multi-market quantitative studies, CATI fieldwork, and B2B sampling has shown me how much precision and empathy go into getting research right. What keeps me motivated is knowing that solid fieldwork and sampling decisions are the foundation everything else whether it be the insights or the strategy or the business impact, relies on it.
What were your initial expectations for the Principles Express course you took? Tell us about your experience with the course. What feature(s) about the course was most valuable to you?
I expected a standard refresher, leaning more towards something that looked fairly textbookish on statistical techniques. However, what I got instead was a course that intrigued me from the start itself- it connected advanced analytics — conjoint analysis, cluster analysis, correlation and regression, CHAID directly to real business decisions. Being in the industry for so long, at times we are hung up on getting the job in hand completed with purest of intentions and labor towards that result, this course served as a reminder to why we toil on every project, the managerial impacts these studies have and how we can view them with the keen eye of statistics. The clear framing on when to apply each technique, what data it needs, and just as importantly, when to bring in a statistician versus handling it yourself. That practical judgment is something you don’t always get from a course built around formulas. This learning and insight that this course imparts is something that I felt is of the utmost value to me.
How do you look to leverage your course experience as you progress in your research and insights career?
In my role managing global supply and complex multi-market fieldwork, I’m constantly balancing methodology with execution- conjoint studies, healthcare and B2B sampling, coordinating across time zones. This course has helped me sharpen my ability to speak more fluently across that whole spectrum, from field operations to advanced analytics, so I can be a better bridge between the technical side of research and the Project Management team. My goal is to keep growing into a more strategic voice within InnovateMR, not just on the operational side, but in shaping how we approach complex research design.
