Introduction
by Natacha Dagneaud (Mannheim)
The chairs have been pushed back, and the boxes are piling up. A few notebooks remain on the table, as if they’ve stubbornly refused to be put into a box. It’s in moments like these that we realise that it isn’t always easy to bring a chapter to a close. Have you ever left a room that bears your signature? Perhaps a student flat, your parents’ house, your first office? Then I'm sure you’ll recognise that silence - the one that gently fills with memories of the place you’re preparing to leave. The Séissmo loft is one of those places. For the last two decades, this is where we have researched, listened, analysed and categorised. But today is not about the pain of parting. It is about a clear position. This is not a moment of melancholy. Not an ending that erases what we had. No. It is more of a rearrangement of the books on the shelf. You will stay with me, in my thoughts.
What is ending
What is ending is the daily operations, the routine of meetings, field phases and evaluations. I am not bringing Séissmo’s market research activities to a close with fireworks - but rather the way one finishes a good book. The last page is not being ripped out (or read first) - it is being deliberately turned over. Contracts will be respected, ongoing commitments will be kept, questions will be answered. I will be making phone calls, not just writing. I am not tired, or bored with market research.
But over the years, I have learnt that trust is not won at the start of a relationship, but demonstrated at its end. The day you say “what a shame it’s ending” should also be the day you say “it's good that it’s ending this way”. I hope that you will remember how we worked. With care, with curiosity, always focusing on the essential. And I hope, too, that this transition reflects that. A clean line drawn beneath in-depth work. That’s what matters to me, as I close the door on Séissmo and carefully switch the light off one last time.
What is staying
All the colourful mugs in the coffee room, the cast iron supporting columns, the brick facade of the old printing office... We’re leaving all of them behind. But Séissmo remains, no longer tied to a specific location, as a knowledge resource. The reports won’t be left to rot in a basement. Our fundamental research project, Séissmograph, will remain available, as will the methods, interview guidelines, and “short notes in the margin” that once led to great insights. Very early on, I decided that our knowledge shouldn’t be locked away in boxes. The portal remains open for you to read, verify and reflect on. Perhaps you will rediscover an old question and see it in a new light. Perhaps a single paragraph will spark a new project. I like to think that our work will continue to have an impact. Knowledge isn’t a museum artefact - it’s a tool. And tools aren’t put on display - they are passed on.
Why this step makes sense
I have spent enough time on site with brands to know how things work there. It was instructional, it was sometimes brilliant, but the paint has never interested me as much as what is underneath. Gently but persistently, my internal compass has already been pointing east for a while now. My experience from 30 years of market research has awoken my need to combine my geopolitical roots with research relevant to business.
You know, years of international projects, my proximity to Georgia and Ukraine and above all my work with Oksana, who had to flee Ukraine, have changed my view of Europe - permanently. It has become clear to me that democratic security and society are undergoing profound change and must be recalibrated — and the consequences will affect the everyday routines of people and institutions alike. And this realisation has awoken a need to work somewhere where careful listening and the capturing and objective analysis of attitudes and concerns shape solid public decision-making. And that’s exactly where I want to put my experience to use.
There are moments in your career when you realise that you’re not beating your drum in time with the music in the room anymore. So you can either get louder and drown out everything else, or you can change rooms. I’m changing rooms. With gratitude for what was, and humility for what is to come. This decision does not feel like a leap into the unknown, but rather an arrival. Perhaps it is like a river, leaving the rapids behind to gently join the delta. Still flowing in the same direction, just at a different pace.
Lessons from the last decades
Three decades of work shapes a person, like water shapes a stone. I’ve been wearing the Séissmo uniform for 24 years now, and for many years before that as an apprentice of my own curiosity. New knowledge is won through testing hypotheses, clarifying terms together and documenting data so that others can reuse it. In our line of work, metaphors, gestures and silences are not superfluous, they are their own important data. Quality means considering the context and making conclusions clear.
Universities and research institutions have been a second sounding board for me. I would like to thank my colleagues, and also the students we have worked with. They reminded me that curiosity has no age limit.
Borders teach us the importance of bridges. And in our many projects, I have learnt that precision is not a luxury, but a sign of respect. I’ll be taking this lesson forward into my next role, the way one takes a trusty tool to a new site.
The people behind the service
I would like to take a few lines to shine a spotlight on the people who made Séissmo what it was. First, I would like to say thank you to Sharon De Fazio. Over the last few years, she has become my right-hand woman: reliable, forward-thinking and always there when things get tricky. I have been able to depend on her, as a colleague and a friend, without fail. Oksana Bandurovych gave us the gift of her sharp analytical eye. She is meticulous and tenacious, and each of her analyses gets right to the point. I can always count on her precision. Thies Ohler spins many plates, without ever letting one drop. He is a team player, an ideas man, and a true Swiss pocketknife - loyal, pragmatic and entrepreneurial. Sophie Leme Almeida is a rare combination of calm and openness. She listens without judging, and puts her finger on the key point of any conversation. Her feel for nuance has made our work tangibly better. Alrik Schulze helped us understand international Gen Z patterns and was precious in ‘cracking the nut’ of human behaviour.
And I would like to thank each and every person who has worked with Séissmo for their creativity, their willingness and patience to learn, and their commitment to passing on knowledge. Séissmo has always been a haven for learning, for bringing people together. We speak different languages, have had different experiences and hold different points of view. But learning from each other’s differences has made all of us stronger. It was the cultural richness of our team that was the driving force behind our work, and it is thanks to these wonderful people that Séissmo leaves an indelible mark.
Looking forward
Now, I am looking forward like someone opening the window early in the morning. And I can already see the next chapter in front of me: At the operational NATO headquarters JFC Brunssum, I will be able to contribute directly to societal stability and democratic values. It is a role that requires - and deserves - both care and patience. It is a different pace to the one I am used to, which makes the responsibility even greater. I believe that, in today’s world, careful listening is a cornerstone. It has to be.
If you were to ask me what I wish for, going forward, I would say: use what we have built as a tool - do not treat it as a museum artefact. Forward the links, and highlight sections you want to discuss as a team. And if that gives rise to conversations that create clarity, then the portal has done its job.
Final words
Séissmo will remain not as an echo of the knowledge we collected, but as something more tangible. Some chapters have to end for us to truly understand what they meant. Most of all, I bow in respect before those who have shaped these years - and as I rise, I hear the voices of Europe and the free democratic world calling me.
