Michele Levine CEO, Roy Morgan

Michele Levine was born with a passion for people and what makes them tick, social justice and an insatiable curiosity about life.

With over 30 years’ experience as a researcher, Michele has been responsible for thousands of surveys, including many of the largest research projects ever undertaken in Australia, many of which continue to play a critically important part in shaping our society today.

With a fundamental belief in the empowering value of information, Michele was instrumental in the development and refinement of Roy Morgan Single Source, the world’s leading consumer study (based on over 50,000 interviews a year) and, in 2010, the introduction of the Roy Morgan Business Survey.

Michele was ahead of her time in foreseeing the exponential growth of Big Data and, consequently the need for software (like ASTEROID) which can manage and order massive volumes of data – as well as the need for highly trained analysts and data scientists who can help make sense of it.

Trust is the foundation of all human connections – from intimate relationships to everyday business transactions. Trust is critical in our daily lives and acts as the backbone of social institutions, from legal and financial to political and educational. Without trust, we wouldn’t catch a plane, ride in an Uber, provide our credit card details online, and certainly wouldn’t get married.

But it’s DISTRUST we all fear.

Distrust soars when we feel foolish that we trusted too much. Distrust is not an absence of trust–that’s just NO TRUST. Distrust is a very different and much more dangerous beast. Its trajectory runs from doubt to suspicion, anxiety, fear, and, ultimately, self-protection. And it has a material impact on brands … In this thought-provoking keynote, Michele will share case studies that reflect some of the challenges in navigating trust and distrust.