The people make the difference.

Seasoned professionals lead to comprehensive design, execution, analysis and presentations.

Dave McLinn is one of the original founders of Directions Research Corp. in 1983. Since its inception, Directions Research has conducted market research studies in virtually all segments of animal and crop production and all product categories.

Prior to forming Directions Research, Dave McLinn spent 2 years as Senior Analyst with Miller Research Services, one of the pioneering companies in agricultural marketing research. He has dedicated his career to providing marketing and marketing research services to a broad spectrum of clients. With an MBA from the University of Minnesota, he has spent over 25 years designing and executing research studies. In that time, he has worked with major manufacturers in the crop protection, animal health, seed, feed, and vegetation management industries.

At Directions Research, you work directly with the principals of the company. You receive recommendations and information that leads to a workable course of action from individuals that are committed to the successful execution of every project

Greg Dunlop has over 25 years experience in the agricultural chemical and biotechnology industry. He has worked in numerous middle and senior management positions in research & development and marketing positions in Shell Chemicals, Ciba-Geigy and Novartis Crop Protection prior to becoming Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Novartis Canada. Starting in 2000, as Vice-President of Stratus Agri-Marketing, he helped grow this firm into the leader in market research in Agricultural industry in Canada and a significant player in the US market. Greg was responsible for the Horticultural and Corn crop protection and seed market research in the USA, all Corn, Soybean and Horticultural research in Canada and worked on Channel studies in both the USA and Canada as well as USA Cotton, USA Turf and Greenhouse Ornamental projects. He developed Stratus's capability in segmentation, brand image, brand gain/loss analysis among other techniques. In 2007/2008 Greg was a partner in the firm ImagePro Marketing Services was responsible for consulting and market intelligence. At the beginning of 2009 Greg joined AgLine/TI, an AgData company in Canada, to head up Market Research & Intelligence. He has a B.Sc. in Environmental Biology from the University of Guelph, a MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is a member of the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Research & Intelligence Association.

As Operations Manager since 1999, Joan oversees all general office administration functions.  In addition, Joan manages the coding, data entry and data processing functions for the organization.    An employee of DRC since 1990, she has over 15 years of experience in the market research industry.  Joan is a native of Iowa and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Management Information Systems from Buena Vista University in 1998.   Prior to her employment with Directions Research, Joan worked in customer service and advertising sales for a publisher of national directories in Everett, WA. 

Erin Runde joined Directions Research Corporation in 2004 as a Project Manager. At Directions Research Corporation Erin manages various projects, from start to finish crossing all obstacles along the way. She works closely with all aspects of each and every project to ensure client satisfaction.  In her time with Directions Research, she has successfully managed well over 50 projects in all areas of both animal and crop production.

Prior to joining Directions Research, Erin worked in agricultural production, retail management and Advertising services.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Finance from Waldorf College in 2004.

Erin enjoys training and showing Arabians, raising cattle, and spending time with family. Erin is also very involved with her community, chairing the Worth County Recreational Center Board and being a Mentor within the Worth County Joining Generations program.

Kristen began her career in consumer research at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN where she earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology. While there, she worked as a Research Assistant for several professors in the psychology department on various projects including eyewitness memory and emotional responses to advertisements.

Kristen continued her education at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN where she earned her Masters degree in Mass Communications with a specialty in Advertising and Public Relations. While in St. Cloud, she also worked as the Research Analyst for the Minnesota Highway Safety and Research Center, working mainly with the Driver Improvement Program courses. She developed the center's first longitudinal customer satisfaction study and subsequently updated class curriculum to best fit the needs of those taking the classes.

Prior to joining Directions Research, Steve had been with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. serving in a variety of roles focused on marketing research including managing the global market research team for Pioneer. Steve's background in marketing research includes a broad spectrum of projects such as discrete choice modeling, brand measurement, advertising testing, customer satisfaction, pricing and longitudinal analysis. Steve has managed and executed marketing research projects around the globe on a variety of topics related to agriculture.

Nick hails from Dubuque, IA where he attended Clarke College and then the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA).  Nick studied business management and marketing.

He joined Directions Research in 2004 as the Field Services Manager. Nick’s primary duties include managing all data collection activities for our 50 position phone center.  In addition to production and personnel responsibilities, Nick oversees all quality control activities in the data collection process.  In 2006, Nick’s responsibilities expanded to include Operations Management for AcreLink.

Before joining Directions Research, Nick spent 8 year with APAC Customer Services, Inc serving as Business Manager at the Mason City , Iowa site.  In this capacity, he was responsible for all activities of the entire 96 seat, 200+ employee outbound calling center.

Nick's interests include serving as a mentor through the Worth County Mentoring Program, Secretary on the North Iowa Youth Center board of directors, and competitive softball and basketball throughout the year.

Jon is responsible for the technology infrastructure and operations of both Directions Research and AcreLink. He oversees and maintains the company’s databases, hardware, network, and website. 

Directions Research is a full service marketing research firm with project design, data collection, data processing and data analysis conducted in-house by Directions Research personnel.  This guarantees the utmost in quality control, project security and confidentiality along with a heightened commitment to the successful completion of your project.