Biography

At Cambridge from 1976 to 1980 Dermot Cox started studying English, changed to economics and finally got it right with social and political sciences (head of department Anthony Giddens, inventor of the Third Way and recent head of LSE). Working life followed a similar unplanned but parallel pattern. First job was with US children's book publishing company Scholastic Publications (now best known for publishing Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy in the UK and Harry Potter in the US).

When Scholastic moved from Covent Garden to Leamington Spa, he stayed in London combining part-time jobs working with young people with special needs at the Katherine Low Settlement in Battersea and doing market research telephone interviews. First market research employer was IMR, part of AGB, long since submerged into Taylor Nelson Sofres. He then moved with the management to BMSL (now Total Research) where in 1985 he set up Customer Satisfaction Surveys. CSS became the leader in syndicated studies across Europe for professional services firms as their marketing functions rapidly expanded. After he left, CSS was sold - to Taylor Nelson Sofres, naturally, forming TNS professional services.

In 1994 he set up Cox Consulting, deciding to focus on face-to-face research, having learnt the limitations of the telephone approach. He specialises mainly in the legal market, thinking, so far rightly, that there is sufficient business in this sector to keep him busy. The Big Eight accountancy firms of the mid-80s have gradually shrunk to the Big Four, while the number of law firms in London seems to grow continuously.

From 1995 to 1999 he was chairman of residents' group HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) during the UK's longest-running public inquiry, into Terminal 5. This involved unpaid impersonation of the role of a solicitor/advocate. Although the terminal was approved, the Inspector set a stringent condition of a limit of 480,000 flights a year. It will be interesting to see whether this counts for anything in practice.

Dermot Cox conducts all face-to-face interviews personally, believing this direct experience of talking to many hundreds of clients improves the understanding he can bring to reporting their views and requirements to his own clients. While he likes working for himself because of the freedom and ability to maintain high standards this allows, he also works with selected business partners for projects requiring telephone interviews or overseas face-to-face interviews.

Dermot Cox is a Full Member of the Market Research Society.