Core Team

German-born Johannes fell in love with South Africa on a brief visit, and has lived in South
Africa since 1997. After working for different research agencies, he started HOTBUTTONS in
2002 to get away from corporate cookie-cutter research and to build something both deeply
personal, collaborative and reliable.
With an innate and intuitive understanding of what makes consumers tick across cultures
Johannes knows how to make it work across continents! His experience at large research
agencies combined with insights gained across Africa, Europe and South America, has
enabled him to help grow global brands in developing African markets.

Gillian was born in Scotland and grew up in Botswana. Drawn to Cape Town, she initially moved to South Africa in 1994 but later left to work in London before returning to South Africa, where she began working with HOTBUTTONS in 2004. Gillian’s upbringing on both continents makes her an excellent ‘cultural broker’. Her ability to pick up the nuances no one else does is uncanny. Gillian has a vast amount of experience across different industries including FMCG, food and beverage, technology, OTC medicine and lifestyle products. Her abiding passion is conducting research across the African continent.

Janine is South African and an integral part of the HOTBUTTONS team, with whom she has worked for the last 5 years.
She is a master multi-tasker and all-round office guru. Her background in accounts makes her a very organized and analytical thinker, so while the team is travelling and delving into consumers’ minds, Janine keeps the business ticking and the teams organized.