Directory:Gregory J. Kohs

Gregory J. Kohs
Residence	Florida, United States
Born	1968-10-07 Jackson, Michigan, United States
Known for	Intellect, humor, and diplomacy
Occupation	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Contact	302.463.1354 Web: GregoryKohs.com E-mail: Gmail Blog: Research Biz blog

Gregory J. Kohs is a marketing research practitioner and founder of enterprises. He is the youngest child of four, born in Jackson, Michigan to Richard and Loretta Kohs. In 1981, he moved with his parents to Central Florida, settling in Winter Park, Florida.

Kohs now lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida with his wife, daughter, and a high-energy chihuahua mutt. He has been both a Vice President of research sales at a market research vendor and a Director of market research at Xfinity and at Comcast Business. He founded or co-founded four Internet-based organizations: Facts On Call, Inc. and the non-profit Internet Review Corporation (both now closed), MyWikiBiz.com, which is a publicly-edited directory featuring tens of thousands of pages of content, and Research Biz, LLC, a fast-growing market research consultancy. Across a number of years, Kohs served as a volunteer director of the Church of the Loving Shepherd, a board member of a high school PTSA, and a member of the Florida Public Relations Association.

MIT Media Lab's persona tool, as it characterized "Gregory Kohs"

Credentials

Overview

In 1986, Kohs accepted a Dean's Scholarship (half tuition) to attend Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Graduating magna cum laude in 1990 with a Bachelor's degree in History, Kohs accepted a Russell Conwell Fellowship (full tuition, plus annual stipend) to attend Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, he pursued a PhD degree which combined elements of Military History and Quantitative Methods in Geography. Simultaneously, he worked as a dormitory faculty member at the boys' boarding school, The School at Church Farm. Living for three years with 15 different seventh- and eighth-grade boys from diverse backgrounds taught Mr. Kohs a great deal of patience and understanding. After passing his four comprehensive exams required for the PhD program and completing work on about one-quarter of his dissertation (which was to have covered the aviation industry in Eastern European during the 1930's), Kohs opted to leave academia with his Masters degree to pursue a more promising career in marketing research.

With decades of experience designing and executing market research services for Fortune 500 companies like AT&T, Comcast, IBM, McKesson, and SunTrust, growth is the driving purpose energizing Mr. Kohs' work. When selling client-driven market research insights on the vendor side of the industry, he took a $400,000 book of annual business and in just a few years grew it to $1.75 million. While employed with Comcast Business, as the division grew from $2 billion annual revenue to over $7 billion, Kohs' leadership of the market research function at corporate headquarters witnessed expansion from two generalized personnel to five specialized experts, and he cost-effectively authorized operating budgets that grew from $2 million to $5 million annually. Where Comcast Business used to complete about 20 research projects per year (at the time of his hire), in his final year with the company he and his team successfully delivered over 100 such projects.

Now with Research Biz, LLC, Mr. Kohs' market research expertise covers advanced quantitative, qualitative, and user-experience research techniques. The company is seeing triple-digit year-over-year revenue percentage growth. He has successfully executed pivotal work related to brand equity, customer satisfaction, strategic product planning, pricing optimization, product bundling, advertising tracking, name testing, feature prioritization, and public relations. His research and commentary have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he has appeared on both cable and broadcast television shows and in USA Today, the Washington Post, other major newspapers, and popular books, discussing how businesses interact with crowd-sourced websites.

Cheers

Numerous colleagues and clients of Gregory Kohs have offered their recommendations of him.

• I'm pleased to recommend Gregory and recognize his role leading Market Research and Analytics at Comcast Business. He supported multiple stakeholders and applied his in-depth experience to design and execute effective primary research. He consistently focused on delivering actionable insights for the business. - Karen Schmidt, Comcast - June 2016

• Greg brought his experience and expertise in research/insights to Comcast Business in 2012. Over time he took on additional analytical roles and consistently added value. Greg's expertise and collaborative approach make him an asset to any team he is a part of. - Mark Schweitzer, Comcast - April 2016

• I had the pleasure of working for Greg and benefiting from his extensive knowledge of market research techniques. He is a strong and effective communicator and very supportive of his staff. Greg can quickly analyze data and summarize key findings for diverse audiences. He is a consummate research professional. - Christopher Caltagirone, Comcast - April 2016

• ...always being friendly, supportive, and patient! I always felt appreciated and happy to come in. - Migela Duka, Comcast - March 2016

• He's brilliant, he's consistent, he's astute, and he's funny. - Tim Davenport, founder of Mutant Pop Records - June 1, 2014

• <Wikipedia> is lucky to have people like Greg; even if he never directly contributes to [Wikipedia] going forward, we're all well aware that he's a very intelligent and eloquent individual with a knack for investigative reporting. He holds [Wikipedia] and the [Wikimedia Foundation] to their word, and I personally thank him for that. - Wil Sinclair, Partner of Lila Tretikov (former Wikimedia Foundation executive director) - May 22, 2014

• I sincerely appreciate the time and effort you invested in ensuring that I got the most out of my internship by giving me stimulating projects accompanied by helpful and constructive feedback. - Danica Breton, Comcast - August 2013

• Greg is a fantastic market researcher. He is well-versed in research methodologies and balances his technical knowledge with an ability to glean useful product development findings and insights. Greg delves deep into research design to ensure that results will be reliable and trustworthy and ensures that key stakeholders are included at every step of the process. With his background in working at a research services firm, he is also very helpful when working with research vendors -- often providing helpful direction when vetting proposals or managing vendors throughout the research project process. He's also extremely professional and responsive to stakeholder concerns. - Bianca Ling, Comcast - February 9, 2012

• Your advice and support was greatly appreciated. I was lucky to learn about my field of interest from somebody as knowledgeable as you. - Carol Blackburn, Comcast - May 2010

• I was fortunate to work with Greg for a number of years at ICR, before he made the bold, but wise, move to Comcast. I learned a great deal from him as well as about him. He is dedicated to taking in as much as possible, yet strives to make his own mark and contributions. There are those who know a lot about a few things, and others who know a little about many things; then there's Greg, who knows an awful lot about many, many things! His intelligence and analytical nature have clearly driven his success, but his personality and above-average 'people skills' separate him from the crowd. - Dean Martinelli, ICR - November 23, 2009

• I have nothing but glowing remarks to make about Greg. He was managing my account at a vendor and I was thrilled to have him join my team. He is very bright, knows the industry, has a strong skill set in research and analysis and is a team player who bends over backwards to help out. If I had to recommend a replacement for me in my current role, Comcast would be lucky to have Greg in that spot. - Paul Hockenbury, Comcast - January 5, 2009

• Greg is a trustworthy and meticulous individual who gets things done. He approaches challenges head-first and always looks to the solution in any given situation with a positive attitude. His work ethic was unquestionable and admirable. He was immensely helpful over my years working with him and always offered well thought out and sound advice. It was a pleasure working with him in all aspects. - Mark McErlean, ICR - December 11, 2008

• Greg did an excellent job covering data with the West Division team. I appreciate his knowledge and the way he was able to help our teams understand the data and potential actions to improve customer perception. - Cathy Kilstrom, Comcast - September 15, 2008

• I have worked with Greg, for many many years. He is one of the most professional and knowledgeable individuals I have worked with on market research projects. He always takes time to answer questions -- great and small -- with a care and concern rarely found. - Stacy (Wagner) Casebier, Synergistics Research - July 19, 2006

• I have known and worked with Greg for about 10 years. He is intelligent, driven, detail-oriented and approaches his work with integrity and concern for his customer. I know because I've worked with Greg as a co-worker and come back to him as a client. - PJ Gorenc, Nemours Foundation - February 10, 2006

• Greg is one of those rare people who have the ability to move from strategic-level concepts and theory right down to the tactical applications. When it comes to Market Research, Greg knows how to get it done right. - Michael Brenner, ICR - February 3, 2006

• I want to express my sincere gratitude for your help and counsel this year. As always, the work has been very high quality and well received. - Rick Kolster, SunTrust - December 15, 2005

• Put Greg Kohs on every project. - Kirk Coburn, Pure Golf - October 27, 2003

• Greg Kohs is fantastic to deal with -- helps us with every need. - Jennifer Guberman, Magnet Communications - September 24, 2003

• Greg Kohs DEFINES client service! - Laura Schneider, Accenture - September 17, 2003

• Greg Kohs and his team were a pleasure to work with. - Jane-Linn Vincent, Manning, Selvage & Lee - August 19, 2003

Consulting and speaking

Gregory Kohs is currently available for consulting projects, speaking engagements, and press interviews, regarding market research practices, or (if it is of interest to you) about Wikipedia and how businesses interact with community-managed websites. Kohs has also served as expert witness in high-profile litigation where consumer surveys are introduced as evidence.

As a Director-level researcher at a Fortune 50 company, Kohs has seen it all in the fields of advertising and marketing communications. As someone who is also very knowledgeable about wiki communities, he can present to your group or help you complete a news story with anything you need to know about wikis, Wikipedia, and the Wikimedia Foundation.

American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

Kohs spoke about wiki implementation at the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in July 2007, with his portion of the presentation available for download.

Greg Kohs’ presentation of wiki was both insightful and knowledgeable. I hope to have him return for further discussions on such an exciting emerging topic. -- Rebecca Morgan, Director of Communications, AACP

International Smart Tan Network

Also in 2007, he spoke to the main assembly of an annual conference of indoor tanning industry professionals, about survey research data related to teens and tanning.

As senior vice president of International Smart Tan Network, I've coordinated 19 international conventions for the owners and operators of professional indoor tanning facilities. Gregory Kohs has produced market research projects for me several times, and has presented material at our conferences. His thorough approach has always been a wonderful boon for my attendees — he goes beyond the surface to create material that is truly relevant to their concerns and presents it in a way that creates value both for my members and for me as a conference coordinator. I recommend Greg without hesitation to any conference coordinator. -- Joseph Levy, Senior Vice President, International Smart Tan Network

Cheltenham High School

In December 2011, Kohs was invited to speak before a student audience of teens enrolled in the gifted program and a journalism course at Cheltenham High School. His presentation is available for download, best viewed in "slideshow" mode.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and expertise with our students. We appreciated your time and worthwhile information. We will be sharing the PowerPoint with faculty who had hoped to participate in the discussion! -- Alison Shapiro, Gifted program teacher, Cheltenham High School

Rollins College

In October 2013, several sections of an undergraduate English writing course focusing on Wikipedia were treated to a special webinar that Kohs delivered, entitled The Real Wikipedia, best viewed in "slideshow" mode.

Gregory Kohs delivered a webinar for my freshman writing students at Rollins College in the fall of 2013. Kohs drew from his own experience with MyWikiBiz and the published work of others, and shared with us his current investigation of the control over their own Wikipedia entries that some companies exert -- control that directly violates Wikipedia's claim about neutrality. By outlining ways in which Wikipedia fails to abide by its own policies, Kohs helped students become more critical users of the online encyclopedia. Students appreciated the visit from someone with such wide-ranging and informed knowledge about Wikipedia, and both enjoyed and learned from the presentation. -- Dr. Patrick C. Fleming, Visiting Assistant Professor, Rollins College

Atlantic Region Energy Expo

AREE: Show Guide cover

In May 2015, the final Atlantic City installment of the annual Atlantic Region Energy Expo (AREE) was held. Mr. Kohs was selected to speak at a conference-closing session about Market Research Basics for Small Business, where company owners were introduced to several low-cost ways they can gather research about customer satisfaction, brand image, and market share -- all pertinent to their specific industry.

Gregory Kohs gave a splendid presentation at the 2015 Atlantic Region Energy Expo in Atlantic City, a conference gathering of about 2,400 industry professionals, of which I was the chairman. He crafted an informative program which focused on the small business owner, and especially our industry. It was great to have a guide educate us on how to achieve greater profitability on a limited budget. -- Trent Van Doren, Chairman, AREE 2015

marketing research marketing research consultant Wikipedia expert Wikipedia consultant Wikipedia editing Wikipedia editor paid editor Wikipedia business public relations Wikipedia consulting Editor for hire

Personal Information

Mr. Kohs' wife and daughter are the most important elements in his life, and he cherishes their experiences together. His professional interests include survey sampling methodologies, probability, the semantic web, and community-organized Internet content. His leisure interests include day-sailing, choral singing, and backyard horticulture. He has a weakness for stone crab claws, and he rarely refuses a friendly game of Texas hold'em poker.

Photo gallery

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External links

• GregoryKohs.com Home page (redirects to this page)
• Inside Market Research Industry blog
• MyWikiBiz.com Start-up venture