Travel analyst Henry Harteveldt says he’s leaving Forrester Research Sept. 1 to form an “industry-focused research company” with travel and airlines, along with healthcare, as the initial focus.
Harteveldt says he, Jeffrey Breen and Rich Ridolfo, with the latter two having +worked at Forrester several years ago, will be the cofounders of the
new company, Atmosphere Research. The new company will perform industry and consumer research and provide consulting services.
Harteveldt, who has been at Forrester for more than 11 years, says he decided to leave the company because Forrester’s publications were largely geared toward certain job titles — such as chief marketing officer or various ecommerce roles — and Forrester “wasn’t able to figure out a way” to enable him to do more comprehensive research.
Harteveldt will remain in his post as chairman of ATME (Association of Travel Marketing Executives).
CONGRATULATIONS – while it may not be a great time to be going into any business, our industry most assuredly can benefit from what you and your associates can bring forward. Much success!!!
Congratulations, Henry! I can’t wait to see some of the new research Atmosphere will publish…
Congratulations! The demand for quality research and insights is growing exponentially. You will do well!
Cheers
Fredrik Korallus
Bold move in this economy, but travel is still essential to our global economy. As developing economies grow, demand for these research and consulting services will do as well. Looking forward to reading more!
Congratulations on the new venture.
It’s really too bad that Forrester wasn’t able to support the type of focus that Atmosphere will be providing. I’m going to be interested to see how much of your focus will be on services and municipalities.
Ridolfo is an inspired choice. It makes me wonder. Tomorrow’s research companies will transform disciplines like yield management and assortment optimization into on-demand services. Dachis does this, why not you?
This is cool; congrats. I’ve followed Henry’s work since his pre-Forrester days when the industry was in its infancy. Looking forward to what he comes up with here.
Congratulations Henry on launching your own company! The research, analysis and insights are sure to be better than ever!