Summary of 2023 impact of the cost-of-living crisis

Steven Bailey

Principal Analyst, Video Games

Steve specializes in the online PC gaming market, virtual worlds, online consoles, as well as casual, browser-based, and social gaming. 

He also provides consultancy services for major international clients and general games intelligence service work. Steve focuses on subscription and micro-transaction markets in the West as well as in emerging gaming sectors.

Prior to joining Omdia, Steve had an accomplished career in games journalism in a variety of magazine roles, including as editor of a TV-based games portal. Most notably, he lent his distinctive voice as a freelance writer to Edge, the influential games periodical. Over the six years of his career as a writer, Steve published several thousand published pages of video game content within the specialist press.

Steve attended Cardiff University in Wales, completing a PhD in mathematics with an emphasis on numerical analysis and multivariate calculus.  

Sonia Agnese

Senior Principal Analyst – Latin America Service Providers Markets

Sonia is a Senior Principal Analyst, bringing over 25 years of experience in the Telecommunications, Media, and Technology (TMT) industry. She is a recognized expert in telecom strategy, market research, public policy, regulation, and consulting, with a particular focus on Latin America. Sonia closely tracks global telecom trends and developments, providing insights that bridge international perspectives with Latin America regional realities. She is a frequent speaker at leading industry events.

Before joining Omdia in 2014, she was responsible for regulatory evolution and strategy for the Telecom Argentina Group. She previously worked as a senior consultant at Arthur Andersen and at Deloitte.  

She holds an Honours degree in Accounting and Economics and an MBA from CEMA University in Buenos Aires. Sonia is professor of the Digital Economy Regulation executive program of UTDT and honorary professor at post-graduate programs in key universities and telecommunications programs in Argentina.

She is a judge for the GSMA GLOMO Awards and a founding member of @ChicasTicLatam, a regional networking community focused in promoting women’s leadership in the ICT sector across Latin America.

Matthew Bailey

Senior Principal Analyst, Advertising

Matthew Bailey leads Omdia’s advertising research, covering the global digital and traditional media advertising sectors. Matthew’s research focuses on the ad operations of big tech players, TV broadcaster advertising strategies, ad-supported online video (AVOD/FAST), retail media, and the evolving connected TV advertising landscape.

He also has expertise in—and produces research into—the broader media, entertainment, and technology industry, including OTT video, digital publishing, social media, video games, and consumer platforms and devices.

Prior to joining Omdia, formerly Ovum, in 2015, Matthew worked as a senior research analyst at MarketLine. He holds a degree in English language and literature from the University of Leeds.

Esther Cheh

Senior Analyst, Access Networks

Esther is Omdia’s Senior Analyst for transport networks, including router, switching, and optical technologies. She has more than 12 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, covering network operations, market and industry analysis, and business strategy in service provider and network equipment vendor environment.

Esther joined Omdia in December 2016. Prior to joining Omdia, she worked as a business consultant, providing strategic consulting on fixed network services to the service providers in the Asia Pacific performing market, opportunity sizing to support corporate decision-making, and recommendations on the go-to-market strategy for new product and new market segments.

Esther holds a Bachelor of Engineering in telecommunication engineering from Multimedia University, Malaysia, and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, Australia.

Alzbeta Fellenbaum

Practice Leader, Service Provider - Consumer

Alzbeta Fellenbaum is the Practice Leader for Omdia’s Service Provider – Consumer research covering consumer broadband data and bundling trends as well as monetization strategies for telco digital retail services.

Alzbeta has over a decade of experience in the telecoms sector, delivering strategic research and consulting projects such as the Broadband Coverage in Europe project for the European Commission. Previously, Alzbeta was a principal analyst and research manager at IHS Markit and a member of the service providers and platforms team. Prior to joining IHS Markit in 2012, Alzbeta was an audience research and market insights coordinator for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, Czech Republic. Alzbeta holds a Master of Arts in international relations and American studies from Charles University in Prague and has studied at the University of Miami and Georgetown University.

Vladimir Galabov

Senior Research Director, Enterprise Infrastructure

Vlad is responsible for the enterprise infrastructure teams at Omdia, including the cloud and data center research practice and the cybersecurity research practice. He guides the teams’ research strategy and produces research with a focus on disruptive trends, such as infrastructure upgrades necessary to enable broad adoption of AI, as well as the impact of AI on the enterprise infrastructure stack.

Vlad joined Omdia, formerly IHS Markit Technology, in 2016. He assumed the responsibility for the cloud and data center research practice in 2021, developing many of its unique, industry-leading technical analyses, including its flagship “single source of truth” data center capex and capacity model. He held senior positions at Intel and Ciena, where his data-led insights served as a central input into the companies’ strategies. Key market models he developed include an in-depth analysis of telecommunications network operations costs, a PC inventory tracker, and an actionable IoT market forecast. Vlad’s work has even facilitated decision-making in the British Parliament. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and management from Aston University, the UK.

Tony Gunnarsson

Principal Analyst, TV, Video & Advertising

As part of Omdia's media and entertainment team, Tony Gunnarsson covers the global online video sector, with a specific interest in direct-to-consumer video services, across both subscription and transactional video, as well as online video aggregation.

His main research interests are in the premium, paid-for subscription online video (SVOD). Tony provides analysis of the key developments in the global online video market, consumer insights, and business intelligence. He also writes on adjacent developments in the broader TV and home entertainment market, including the emergence of AVOD services as a vehicle for premium content. Prior to joining Informa Tech (now Omida), formerly Ovum, in 2014, Tony worked as a senior analyst at IHS Markit, formerly IHS Screen Digest. He holds a master’s degree in imperial and commonwealth history from King’s College London.

William Thompson-Hare

Research Director

William Thompson-Hare is the Research Director for Telecoms Data Strategy at Omdia. He is responsible for leading and managing Omdia’s World Information Series (WIS) product family (including WCIS and WBIS) and driving the creation of unique market data for the telecom industry.

William has more than 17 years of experience in the telecom sector, advising operators, NRAs, and professional services firms worldwide. He joined Omdia in 2020 and became the practice leader for European Service Provider Markets. William led a team of analysts covering fixed and mobile market developments in the European telecom industry across more than 50 countries. His specializations include market modeling and data analysis, market forecasting, 5G, and broadband market dynamics. William holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge.

Maxine Holt

Vice President, Enterprise & Channel Research

Maxine Holt leads the Enterprise & Channel research group incorporating Omdia cybersecurity, cloud and data center, platforms and applications (including AI, IoT, and digital workplace), and Canalys Channels research. Maxine has spent her entire career in the technology industry, and her team delivers a comprehensive research program to support vendor, channel, and enterprise clients. Maxine also leads the Omdia Analyst Summit at the high-profile Black Hat series of events.

Irina Kornilova

Practice Leader, TV & Online Video

Irina tracks the international online, movie, and TV markets and maintains the Omdia online video models via extensive interview work and desk research. Her widespread contacts with a network of key industry players support Irina’s research and analysis of the sector. 

Irina is also a regular contributor to industry reports. She has written about a range of topics, including an assessment of iTunes market share, the changing nature of the Australian online rental market, and the strategies of consumer electronics companies for online video in Europe. Irina holds a Master of Science in international management from King's College London, as well as a graduate degree in management from the Russian State University of Trade and Economics. She is fluent in Russian.  

Craig Stice

Chief Analyst, Omdia Semiconductor Research

As part of Omdia’s semiconductor practice, Craig focuses on semiconductor manufacturing worldwide. Craig’s team provides detailed research on the semiconductor industry, whether at the IDM, fabless, or foundry markets. Additionally, his team provides a quarterly semiconductor revenue forecast by component type which currently goes up to 2027.

Previously, Craig worked with the memory team at Omdia, focusing specifically on the NAND industry. Craig provided detailed analysis of NAND manufacturing, technology trends, as well as application demand drivers to create an overall view of the current NAND supply/demand environment and the outlook.

Craig began his career as an analyst with IHS Markit (now Omdia) in 2012. Prior to that, Craig spent 16 years at Micron Technology working in product marketing and business development. Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts from Boise State University, Idaho.

Daniel Sutton

Principal Analyst, Visual Entertainment

Daniel Sutton is part of the media and entertainment team, specializing in aggregating data and curating both custom and syndicated outputs across the media and entertainment space. His work supports the development of new products and the expansion of existing data sets at Omdia.

Daniel joined the television media service at Omdia (formerly IHS Markit) in 2014, specializing in IPTV and video-on-demand (VoD) technologies. Later, he developed outputs for the TV and online video intelligence service and has since worked with teams at Omdia to create the current service.

Prior to joining Omdia, Daniel worked predominantly as an analyst, supporting the management of accounting functions in a range of industries, including infrastructure, fashion, and housing.

Nicole McCormick

Chief Analyst, Digital Consumer Services, APAC

Nicole McCormick is Chief Analyst of 5G and Broadband. Her focus is consumer monetization and upsell strategies through tiered pricing techniques and service differentiation. To do this, she asks, “Where is the new money?” from advanced network technologies, gigabit broadband, 5G Advanced, and 5G Standalone. As today’s monetization is also about churn retention, McCormick also looks at how operators can increase consumer stickiness through loyalty programs and initiatives. Her remit also includes 5G FWA innovation and upsell.

She has over 25 years of experience covering the mobile and fixed broadband sectors. Based in Australia, Nicole is a regular presenter and moderator at industry conferences in the region.

Aaron West

Senior Analyst, Consumer Electronics and Display Applications

Aaron provides expertise and analysis of the smartphone market, joining Omdia in 2022.

Aaron has a range of research and publishing experience. He graduated from a degree in theoretical physics before moving into consumer product testing, with a focus on sustainability and the environment.

In this role, he was responsible for research project management, including comparative testing of technology products and consumer surveys. He also reported on the energy efficiency and longevity of home appliances, as well as the product lifecycle and obsolescence of smartphones.

He has published articles in Which?, one of the UK’s largest subscription magazines, produced by the country’s largest consumer association.