Adam DiPaula

Founder & Managing Partner

Adam arrived in Vancouver in August 1991, sight unseen, to study psychology. Six long years later, he netted a PhD – but it was a PhD with no realistic prospect of a job in the academic world. So he needed to find another world, or at least a job so that he could stay in Vancouver.

That job was officially titled “Research Consultant” – a misleading title because he initially wasn’t asked to consult on anything. He was given fairly low-level tasks, which he performed dutifully but with no idea how these tasks could be classified as research. Having heard the term “insight” repeatedly around the office, Adam was anxious to prove himself by generating some.

His first opportunity came with a project about “what drives consumer milk brand choices”. Adam’s analysis was exhaustive and he was confident that he’d found the key driver. Using a respondent comment for dramatic effect, he summarized for his audience that consumer choice was pretty straightforward – they “prefer the brand with the biggest jugs!”

Fast-forward quickly to 2011. Adam founded Sentis to apply his research skills in a way that would really help clients solve problems and make sound investments in marketing and operations. Luckily, Adam’s insights have sharpened from the early days, and he now helps clients across a range of industry sectors to attract and retain customers and employees, to strengthen their brand and reputations, and to identify new areas for growth.

Today he runs Sentis with fellow Managing Partner, Julie Winram. Their successful partnership is based on a shared commitment to doing what’s right for our clients’ business and investing in our team. It’s a pretty simple formula.

Areas of expertise:

Brand development and positioning, KPI development and tracking, VOC program design, program evaluation, public opinion, corporate reputation, employee commitment and well-being.

Experimental design, segmentation, advanced analytics, in-depth interviewing, focus group moderating.

Sectors/Industry practice areas:

Tourism, energy and utilities, transportation, financial services, government and citizen services, and healthcare.

Adam received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in psychology from the University of British Columbia (UBC). He received his qualitative research training from RIVA, and his Indigenous culture awareness training from The Path Institute.

Adam was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and came to Vancouver by way of Madison, Wisconsin. When not at Sentis HQ, he often can be found gardening or golfing – both which he pursues with enthusiasm and mixed results.

My Social Network

Ask Adam about… working with pigeons.