RESEARCH DEFENDER - Key Persons


Dan Fletcher

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Operations
Dan has been in the Market Research industry for eight years, most recently at Lucid he served as Executive Director of Customer Success, focused on the enablement of new verticals into the business. He also held roles responsible for operationally scaling the Services business, managing Global Key Accounts and building out the offshore team in Gurgaon, India. While at Lucid, Dan had a front row seat to watch how the move to programmatic sampling shifted the landscape for fraudulent behavior in the industry. He learned how important it was to remain aggressive in fighting fraud through constant iteration and the addition of new technologies and services. Dan grew up in Maine but now lives in New Orleans with his wife and two children. Dan is an avid Boston sports fan and recently adopted Josie, a golden retriever.

Matt Gershner

Job Titles:
  • Chief Strategy & Revenue Officer
A very proud professional salesperson, Matt brings more than 25 years of experience, the last 16 in the research industry across notable companies such as e-Rewards / Research Now, Lightspeed GMI, as the head of sales for technology startup Remesh and, most recently as the Chief Revenue Officer for GreenBook. Having worked in sports and entertainment as well as the technology and translation industries prior to research, he brings a well-rounded approach to B2B sales and the understanding of visibility and positioning in the marketplace.

Vignesh Krishnan - CEO, Founder

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Founder
Vignesh is the Founder and CEO of Research Defender. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, a master's degree in business administration and technology management which reflects his passion about the intersection of business and technology. Previously serving in multiple leadership positions at Lucid such as Vice President of Product and Chief of Staff, Research Defender is the his first foray into launching a startup. An avid traveler Vignesh loves to experience new countries and cultures. But while he and his wife live in New Orleans, he has lived on 3 continents, visited 3 more and someday hopes to sail to Antarctica to round out the full collection.