2023 Winner

Simon Barnes, Sanofi

Simon Barnes received this honour for his dedication to establishing and leading the BHBIA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) initiative. As the DE&I Committee Chair, Simon has been instrumental in setting up the group and driving forward its mission.

Reflecting on his win, Simon said,"I am extremely honoured to receive this award. Having known and worked with John over a number of years this is very special for me. I have always viewed the BHBIA as a critical organisation across the Business Intelligence industry throughout my career and if I have helped in its success in a small way then that gives me enormous satisfaction."

2022 Winner

Yuliya Fontanetti, Lumanity

At the time of the award, Yuliya was Deputy Chair of the BHBIA's Ethics & Compliance Committee. 2022 also saw her chair our Spotlight on Compliance workshop and speak at the Getting Started in Healthcare Business Intelligence training course. Yuliya was recognised for her genuine passion for compliance that helps engage others with the topic. 

Yuliya commented, "I am honoured and overwhelmed by this recognition. John was one of a kind: dedicated, passionate and inspiring so to receive an award in his honour is a truly humbling experience. I joined the committee in 2018 and, having seen first-hand how it supports its members and drives integrity and transparency of our business practices, I cannot be more grateful to be part of this amazing team.”

2021 winners

Marie Harrison & Ian Crouchley - Partners, Consortium

Ian and Marie were nominated for all the work they put into developing training courses and webinars for the BHBIA. During 2021, they helped us to introduce new training formats that make the most of remote technology, as well as sharing with members their learnings about how to conduct qualitative market research in the virtual setting.

It requires a tremendous amount of time to develop and deliver courses and they both do this at no charge to the BHBIA because they believe passionately in sharing their knowledge and helping to raise the standard of pharma market research.

Ian commented: "I’m pleased as punch to learn that my colleague Marie Harrison and I have been presented with the John Aitchison Award for Outstanding Contribution by the BHBIA. I’m led to believe the award recognises the time and work we have both committed to developing and delivering training courses for the BHBIA’s membership, fellow business intelligence professionals. I must say it is always a pleasure to be able to share knowledge and enthuse others. It is particularly poignant that the award is in John Aitchison’s name, as Marie and I worked with him for many years, joining forces on projects for clients and also developing and delivering training for fellow BHBIA members."

Marie added: "Feeling very honoured to receive this award. I like to think that our dear friend John would approve of the fact that it was made in relation to education and training."

2020 winner

Matthew Beckett - CSL

Matt was nominated for his work as Chair of the BHBIA's Ethics & Compliance Committee. He drove industry excellence in an area which is outside of his usual expertise, drawing on his leadership skills to deliver the Committee's work.

In accepting the award, Matt said: "I really appreciate being recognised among so many that give their time for the BHBIA, and to win an award with John’s name on it makes it all the more special. The Ethics and Compliance team are a pleasure to be involved with, and I’m lucky to have that opportunity. At last – a positive memory to take away from 2020!"

2019 winners

John Aitchison - First Line Research / SurveyScore 

John was nominated for his continued contribution to ensuring that we evolve as an industry to tackle the issue of declining market response rates, through his work with Mel Bayley to build on the Task Force recommendations. John also designed and ran, jointly with Sarah Smith of Kantar, the BHBIA’s highly successful Behavioural Science Summit, and delivered a great conference session, so overall he made a fantastic contribution to the BHBIA during 2019. 

Xavier Fonder - RONIN International 

Xavier worked with enthusiasm and passion in the role of Chair of the Fieldwork Forum to drive change and improvements to everything related to fieldwork. He worked closely with the Response Rate Task Force and is a highly valued and active member of the Ethics & Compliance Committee too.

2018 winners

BHBIA Ethics & Compliance Committee

In 2018, we recognised the oustanding contribution of a team rather than individual, the BHBIA Ethics & Compliance Committee. The team navigated the complexities of GDPR, providing interpretation and guidance and giving our members a voice in discussions with the data protection authorities. At the same time, the team worked with the ABPI to finalise significant changes to adverse reporting guidance and all this was on top of delivering the usual programme of updates and training.

This award includes everyone who was on the Committee during any part of 2018 and recognises the leadership of both Rachel Medcalf, who stepped down as Chair in May 2018 and Matt Beckett who took over the role.

2017 winner

Lee Ronan, CSL (CompuFile Systems Ltd)

Lee is a real champion for raising the profile of business analytics within the BHBIA membership. He played an instrumental role as part of the team that developed the BOBI Analyst of the Year category which included pulling together the task and submission criteria and organising a team of relevant industry experts to appraise the categories. A very successful year for a new BOBI category. He is also a key member of the BOBI Best Newcomer organising team. Lee is also an avid supporter and contributor to the Analytics foundation training course as a speaker and convener.

2016 winners

John Aitchison - First Line Research and Melanie Bayley - deFacto Research

Both John and Melanie were nominated for the leadership and guidance they provided as joint Chairs of the Respondent Engagement Task force. The amount of time, effort and commitment that both put into helping the task force progress was truly impressive.

Along with the overall vision, they provided guidance and direction to the various sub-teams and invested significant personal resources to ensure the research was completed to a level that can be peer reviewed and set an example for other countries to follow.

2015 winners

Alison Buchanan - Alison Buchanan Associates

Over the course of 2015, Alison once again made a huge contribution to the BOBI Awards. The success of the Best Newcomer event owes much to her excellent organisation and leadership skills and she still finds time to support other BHBIA initiatives.

Wilf Iliffe - 14 Four Analytics

Wilf was nominated for his significant and positive contribution to the BHBIA. He plays a full part in the organisation’s activities, including regularly speaking at analytics training courses and chairing the BOBI Committee with wisdom and enthusiasm.

Angela Thornton - ACT Research

Angela volunteered to act as secretary of the Ethics & Compliance Committee and has done an excellent job of drawing together the activity of the various workstreams and keeping everyone on track. And all of this with good humour and a smile.

2014 winner

Paula Walker, Eli Lilly & Co.

Paula was nominated for being the “driving force in the development of the compliance and ethics processes within the BHBIA”, in her role as Ethics Lead. She led the way in identifying and delivering solutions that enable the industry to meet high ethical standards at the same time as delivering excellent performance. She is enthusiastic and passionate about the industry and her commitment to the BHBIA is well recognised.

2013 winners

Alison Buchanan - Alison Buchanan Associates

Alison was nominated for her energy, focus and single-minded determination to do the best job possible. She take a leading role in the Best Newcomer Awards, motivating and engaging the entrants, judges and organisers alike.

Neil Reynolds, medeConnect Healthcare Insight

Neil was nominated for his dedication to supporting and recognising excellence in Business Intelligence. He was a key driver in the development and continual delivery of the BOBI Newcomer Awards.

Steve North, insight 2 implement

Steve was nominated for his input into the development and management of the BOBI awards. As well as co-ordinating the ‘BOBI Challenge’, he provided inspiration and direction as Chair of the BOBI Steering Committee.