About US
Our story
CTRS is a leading provider of Market Intelligence services in North America. We empower organizational leaders with research and analysis to use market signals to their advantage so they can make better and more informed decisions about the future of their organization. Established in 2003, CTRS has become a recognized player in the market intelligence space and has worked with more than 700 clients across North America and other parts of the world.
At our core, we care about people. From our employees, to clients, and the communities we are part of. CTRS was one of the first companies in British Columbia to become a Benefit Corporation (2020) a for-profit company that commits to conducting its business in a responsible and sustainable way. We are also a Certified Living Wage Employer and a Certified Supplier.
Meet the team
We believe that different backgrounds bring a wider perspective to business problems. We’ve found that by having diverse experiences at the table, it brings creative solutions to business problems. Our people come from backgrounds such as journalism, academia, the non-profit sector, market research, marketing and communications, public policy and strategic planning. Having a team of people with different experiences makes working together more fun, creative, exciting and ultimately gets you better results.
Aaron Cruikshank
President
Alexis Gill
Associate
Caroline Wakefield
Executive Vice President
Meagan Doner
OSINT Manager
Pankaj Pandey
Primary Research Manager
In the early 2000s, Aaron Cruikshank had worked with large market research firms, governments and businesses and he learned there were tips and tricks being leveraged that smaller organizations didn’t have access to or even know about.
Aaron knew he could do things differently.
In 2003, what has become CTRS was designed as an alternative to the offerings of large, expensive market research firms. It gave business owners who lacked the big budgets of their larger competitors access to qualitative research that helped them leverage market opportunities.
Aaron loved serving these customers because from a young age, he saw that businesses are made up of people who need to take care of their families. He watched his uncle’s door business struggle to scale and he saw how hard his parents worked as a teacher’s assistant and welder. With CTRS, he saw how he could bring opportunities to businesses and their families.
In 2018, Aaron’s beard was getting longer and his dreams were getting bigger. Aaron wanted to grow CTRS so he could help more businesses by bringing on a team of bright, curious, passionate, hard working people.
Enter one of Aaron’s friends of over 20 years, Caroline Wakefield.
In 2019, Caroline joined CTRS as Vice President (Managing Partner). Like Aaron, Caroline wanted to serve businesses and give them every opportunity to succeed like the bigger corporations she’d worked at in her career thus far. Caroline grew up with a “second home” at her parents’ furniture store so she has a passion for helping entrepreneurs provide for their families.
Aaron and Caroline have been fortunate enough to grow the CTRS team and work towards the shared goal of believing in a future in which our economy has been transformed to create an abundant life for all. A future where systemic barriers to employment have been dismantled and market insights help transform our economy.
PARTNERSHIPS
When we are advising our own clients on how to grow their business, we talk about channel partnerships. At CTRS, we are a big fan of partnerships between us and our peers. When we partner with marketing agencies, market research firms, management consulting firms and other professional service organizations, we offer:
- Experience – CTRS has been in the market intelligence space for nearly 20 years
- Expertise – Few firms in North America can top our knowledge and skills in Market Intelligence
- Surprise and delight – Our partners are often pleasantly surprised at what we can do – sometimes thinking that their research needs can’t be met before talking to us
- Strong capabilities and organization – We are often described by our partners as “super capable” and our standard operating procedures (SOPs) are geared for successful outcomes
- Diversity of thought – Our team has a wide array of experience and we have a different way of looking at the world
- Fun – Our meetings often include a lot of laughter, smiles and are 100% BS free
We maintain a relatively small number of close partnerships that provide great value to all parties. Quality over quantity is our jam.