CHRISTOPHER E. TATHAM, VICE PRESIDENT
Education
M.B.A., Management, Kansas State University, 1996, first in class
B.A., Princeton University, Political Science/Economics, 1990, magna cum laude
Certificate of Proficiency in Latin American Studies, Princeton University, 1990
Professional Affiliations
Chair of the Citizen for Parks Sales Tax Initiative that resulted in the passage of a multi-million dollar voter referendum for parks
and recreation improvements;
Strategic Planning Committee, City of Olathe, Kansas;
Board of Directors, Olathe Chamber of Commerce;
Parks and Recreation Board City of Olathe, Kansas;
Convention and Visitors Bureau of Olathe, Kansas;
Market Research Association
Experience
Mr. Tatham is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the development
of qualitative and quantitative customer satisfaction research for state and local governments.
During the past ten years, he has designed and implemented customer satisfaction assessments
for more than 300 governmental agencies in 44 different states.
He has superior skills for planning and coordinating complex tasks
that are required for the successful administration of comprehensive
customer satisfaction research programs. During the past year, he
managed more than $2.5 million dollars worth of research projects
with budgets ranging from $2,000 to more than $900,000.
Mr. Tatham is a highly skilled interviewer and focus group facilitator.
His experience includes interviews with foreign cabinet members,
Heads-of-State, ambassadors, and numerous leaders at all levels of
government and business in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
His communication skills (both English and Spanish) are excellent
and he is extremely successful at getting quality feedback.
During the past year, he facilitated more than 75 focus groups
and nearly 200 stakeholder interviews.
Recent presentations and talks given by Mr. Tatham
to regional and national audiences include: “How to Increase
Customer Satisfaction with Effective Communication,”
(American Waterworks Association Research Foundation - Washington, D.C.);
“How Municipal Departments Can Implement Effective Customer Satisfaction
Programs on a Limited Budget,” (Government Training Institute
of Kansas and Missouri); “Benchmarking Citizen Satisfaction with
the Delivery of Governmental Services” (Mid America Regional
Council - Kansas City, MO); “Best Practices in Community Survey
Research,” National Association of Counties - New Orleans).
His representative project experience is briefly summarized below:
Mr. Tatham originally developed and implemented ETC
Institute’s
DirectionFinder® Survey in the late 1990s.
Today, the survey allows more than 150 communities
across the United States to objectively assess community
priorities and customer satisfaction against regional and
national benchmarks for a wide range of governmental services.
Mr. Tatham has managed surveys in more than 300 city and counties
in North America, including 9 of the 20 largest U.S. cities and 11 of
the 20 largest U.S. counties. Some of the large communities where
he has managed surveys are listed below:
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• Atlanta, Georgia |
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• Louisville, Kentucky |
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• Austin, Texas |
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• Miami, Florida |
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• Broward County, Florida
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• Miami-Dade County, Florida |
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• Buffalo, New York |
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• Nashville, Tennessee |
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• Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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• Norfolk, Virginia |
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• Columbus, Ohio |
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• Oakland, California |
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• DeKalb County, Georgia |
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• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
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• Denver, Colorado |
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• Providence, Rhode Island |
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• Detroit, Michigan |
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• Riverside County, California |
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• Dupage County, Illinois |
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• San Antonio, Texas |
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• Fairfax County, Virginia |
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• San Bernardino County, CA |
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• Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
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• San Diego, California |
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• Fort Worth, Texas |
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• St. Louis, Missouri |
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• Fulton County, Georgia |
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• St. Paul, Minnesota |
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• Harris County, Texas |
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• Tarrant County, Texas |
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• Houston, Texas |
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• Tucson, Arizona |
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• Kansas City, Missouri |
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• Washington, D.C. |
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• Las Vegas, Nevada |
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• Wayne County, Michigan
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• Long Beach, California |
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• Westchester County, New York
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Transportation Research Experience.
Mr. Tatham also has a very comprehensive understanding of a wide range of transportation issues. In
2004,
he presented an overview of best practices in customer
satisfaction for departments of transportation at
American Association of State Highway Transportation Official’s
national conference. Some of the large organizations for which
Chris has managed transportation related market research include:
• Colorado Department of Transportation
• Iowa Department of Transportation
• Kansas Department of Transportation
• Missouri Department of Transportation
• Oklahoma Department of Transportation
• South Dakota Department of Transportation
• South Carolina Department of Transportation
• North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Texas Department of Transportation
• CalTrans (California Department of Transportation)
• Southern California Association of Governments
• The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
• U.S. National Park Service
Other Experience:
• Mr. Tatham has designed and managed Employee Surveys/Organizational Health Assessments for dozens of local governments.
• Chris managed a large international research project for the American Waterworks Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) that identified ways that water utilities and local governments can use communication strategies to increase customer satisfaction. The findings were published as a book in 2004.
• Mr. Tatham has served as a political advisor and conducted survey research that led to voter approval of projects valued at more than $2 billion during the past four years.
Recent
Publications on Customer Satisfaction Related Issues
• ‘Ten Steps To Increase Customer Loyalty.’ Services, Vol. 25, No. 5 (May), 2005.
• ‘Increase Customer Loyalty in 10 Easy Steps.’ HVACR Distribution Today, Winter 2004/2005
• ‘Steps to Customer Loyalty.’ NAHAD News, February, 2005.
• ‘Inspecting What You Expect Keeps Customers Coming Back.’ e-Mhove,
• ‘Market Research: The Key to Creating Loyal Customers. Chemical Distributor, 2005, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan.).
Current Position
Mr. Tatham is currently serving as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer for ETC Institute. Mr. Tatham is currently a senior
manager for a 100 plus-person, market research firm that specializes in the design and
administration of customer satisfaction research for governmental, nonprofit,
and private organizations. Areas of emphasis include: transportation, planning
and zoning, parks and recreation, public safety, and utilities. Under his leadership
as Director of Operations, the company’s sales have increased by more than 1500%
since 1996. The company was recently selected as “One of the Best Places to
Work in Kansas City” by the Kansas City Business Journal. ETC Institute also
received the prestigious “Top 10 Small Businesses in Greater Kansas City”
award from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; the firm was
selected from more than 1700 nominees.