Andy Akester

As a Brandtrust researcher, Andy Akester uses his experience in business, professional counseling and—uniquely—improvisational theater to better understand the inner workings of the people he interviews. He considers it an honor to represent their voices and takes pride in assisting clients like Kellogg’s and Wrigley to meet the needs and demands of their consumers.

“I love that I get to step into people's stories,” Andy says. “There's analysis going on, and some great critical thinking that this wonderful team applies to the work, but at the end of the day, I get to hear stories about what matters most to people.” As a licensed professional counselor, Andy has been trained, in a wide variety of settings, to seek the truth inside those stories and apply it to finding solutions. He has also spent over a decade working in clinical practice and case management, although his specialty and true interest lies in assessment.

Andy originally moved to Chicago to study improv at The Second City and now lives near Wrigley Field with his wife and their adorable pug, Atlas. Although he has traveled throughout the world, Paris remains Andy’s favorite place of all, and he even ran a full marathon there. Why Paris and not closer to home? Because, he says, “if you’re going to do it, do it right.”