Meet the team
The small but mighty folk behind the data
Fiona Bell Fiona Bell email address link Fiona Bell Linkedin link
Chief Executive
Fiona Bell
Chief Executive
Fiona leads the thrive team and is responsible for the overall strategy, direction, and culture of the organisation. With over 25 years of experience in the cultural sector, Fiona understands the needs of organisations at both a policy and operational level. She makes sure that thrive delivers on those needs and is passionate about driving audience-led change.
What are you currently working on?
In addition to going down a rabbit hole about how policy making works in NI, I’m also delighted to be doing some research for Luail, the new national dance company about audiences for dance on the Island.
Maurane Ramon Maurane Ramon email address link Maurane Ramon Linkedin link
Head of Client Development
Maurane Ramon
Head of Client Development
Maurane heads up the Client Development side of thrive’s business which is about delivering specific contracts or projects for individual customers. Maurane is thrive’s own Swiss army knife. Because our customers range from volunteer-run festivals to local authorities, Maurane’s skillset is as varied as the work.
She is skilled in audience research, data analysis and has a strong background in marketing. But she’s also a crack project manager, clear communicator and all round delight. Whatever you need, Maurane can turn her hand to it with ease.
What are you currently working on?
I’m leading on a research project for Belfast City Council regarding Late Night Art, as well as creating a roadmap for Culture Night. I’m also carrying out evaluation work for both Black Box and Circus Explored. And lots more!
Dr Verity Peet Dr Verity Peet email address link Dr Verity Peet Linkedin link
Head of Sector Development
Dr Verity Peet
Head of Sector Development
Verity leads the Sector Development team and is focussed on developing and supporting the arts sector, particularly through engagement with the IMPACT research programme. With over 25 years’ industry experience straddling arts, heritage, media and tourism, including more than ten years transforming an old church into a thriving arts and heritage venue, Verity is well-equipped to understand the trials and tribulations facing the sector and to devise initiatives for its support and development.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently thinking about what how we ensure both the sector and individual organisations get the best use from the IMPACT data. And I’m getting out and about to meet everyone and find out their needs.
Laura Cusick Laura Cusick email address link Laura Cusick Linkedin link
Research Analyst
Laura Cusick
Research Analyst
Laura is thrive’s lynchpin – she makes our research and insight stand out from the rest. She has over 12 years of quantitative research experience, crafting surveys and analysing data on people’s motivations, behaviours and attitudes. A data nerd at heart, Laura can take a large dataset and uncover the story behind the data, giving organisations useful insights and practical recommendations. Add to that her nine years with thrive and the fact that she has worked alongside many arts organisations makes our research programmes relevant and practical.
She is also the most productive person in the history of the world.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently digging into our data on ticket pricing in Northern Ireland, looking at how factors such as location, artform, and organisation size affect the data.
Susan Bennett Susan Bennett email address link
Business Support Executive
Susan Bennett
Business Support Executive
Kat Robinson Kat Robinson email address link Kat Robinson Linkedin link
Freelance Marketing Support
Kat Robinson
Freelance Marketing Support
Kat shapes how thrive shows up and speaks across all comms channels. From social to newsletters and the website, she ensures everything sounds on-brand and says something meaningful. Her focus is simple: get to the point and make the ‘so what?’ of thrive’s work impossible to ignore.
Suzanne McCoy Suzanne McCoy email address link Suzanne McCoy Linkedin link
Finance Executive
Suzanne McCoy
Finance Executive
Suzanne is thrive’s numbers whizz and is responsible for all things to do with operational finance. She issues client bills and makes sure all our reporting is accurate and on time.
Suzanne has a wealth of business experience gained from over 30 years experience in the Construction industry. When not working Suzanne is an avid rower on the River Lagan and an amateur ceramics enthusiast.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on thrive’s end of year reporting and VAT calculations!
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