Ted Naegeli

President and Chief Executive Officer

Ted co-founded Questar in 1985 and has served as its President and CEO since 1991. Under his management, the company has grown from a visionary startup to a mature services company that is a leader in the three major markets it serves.

Ted also served as CEO of Questar Educational Systems, Inc until its sale in 2006. He remains on its Board of Directors. Prior to the founding of Questar Educational Systems, he served as President of National Business Systems, Inc. and remains on its board. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota business school and worked as a CPA prior to joining NBS as its CFO.

Ted is committed to building a business centered on the success of its customers. As he states, "My belief is that in any business it is your customer service and people driving the success of the organization." He has surrounded himself with a management team that holds to this core value.

Dianne Nilsen

Chief Operating Officer

Dianne is responsible for defining the overall company strategy, growing the business profitably, and managing the executive team. With more than 20 years of experience in consulting and survey research, Dianne has a track record of developing innovative and cost-effective solutions.

Prior to joining Questar, Dianne worked at PDI Ninth House, where she was Vice President, Client Solutions. Also at PDI Ninth House, she held the positions of Vice President, Research; Vice President, Leadership Development Products; and Director, Product Line Management. Previously, Dianne worked at the Center of Creative Leadership, where she focused on research and new product development.

She earned her PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, where she was a Graduate School Fellow.

Ann Small

Chief Financial Officer

Ann oversees Questar's finance, accounting and administrative functions. She works with each of the business units to ensure that they have the financial resources to serve their customers while making appropriate investments for future growth. She is also responsible for the Questar HR team. She has served in various leadership roles at Questar since 1991 and from 2002-2006 served as CFO and Human Resources Director for Questar Educational Systems, Inc. Prior to Questar, Ann had management roles at National Business Systems and Belmont Distributing.

Ann has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota.

Mark Kovatch

Vice President of Sales

Mark’s extensive research background and management experience allow him to help Questar’s clients achieve their business objectives and growth goals.  His experience working across a number of industries has allowed him to identify best practices that he applies to his client's needs.

He has more than 25 years of experience helping Fortune 500 clients improve their customer experience resulting in increased customer loyalty. Mark has demonstrated success in driving business metrics that result in higher client satisfaction and improved customer retention. Clients he has worked with include LifeTime Fitness, Hand and Stone, JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores, Delhaize Americas, Wells Fargo, Toyota Motor Sales and AT&T.

Mark has an MBA from Eastern New Mexico University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls.

Tom Senn

Vice President of Product Innovation

Tom is responsible for providing thought leadership and strategic direction for Questar’s product development and innovation, as well as overseeing the company’s portfolio of products, services and consulting team. Over his 20+ year career, Tom has worked with clients in a wide range of industries, including retail, hospitality, travel, health care, financial services and consumer packaged goods. An experienced researcher, interviewer and moderator, Tom has designed, implemented and analyzed a broad range of qualitative and quantitative market research and exploratory studies around the globe.

Tom joined Questar from Aimia Inc. (formerly Carlson Marketing) where, as Director of Market Research and Customer Insights, he led the company’s client-based and internal customer research programs, advocating data-driven, customer insight-based decision making across both customer and channel marketing initiatives. Previously, Tom was with MarketResponse International, a Minneapolis-based market research firm, as well as Accenture and Nielsen Marketing Research.

Tom earned his MBA in Decision Sciences from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and his BBA in Actuarial Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mark Blais

Chief Information Officer

As Questar’s technology leader, Mark is responsible for client-facing and internal technical operations including all software and systems, as well as new product development and technology integration.

Mark brings over 25 years of software engineering experience, including an extensive background leading enterprise-level software solutions development teams. Most recently, Mark was Senior Group Manager with Target, with technical responsibility for the development of Target’s Point of Sale and Credit based applications. Prior to that he was Senior Director of Software Engineering for Veritas/Symantec Enterprise Backup products. 

 Mark has a B.S. in Business Information Systems Management from UOP.

Jodee Welsh

Director of Client Services

Jodee directs Questar’s program management and client support team to ensure that each client’s unique customer satisfaction program needs are met and program quality expectations are exceeded.

With 20+ years in customer experience management and a strong background in ISO 9001’s Quality Management Systems, Jodee is highly skilled in delivering quality experiences while driving organizational effectiveness and achieving business objectives.

Most recently, Jodee was with Optum, a leader in the health care management industry, where she developed “best in class” product innovation processes. Prior to Optum, she was a senior manager with Best Buy, responsible for training corporate and field teams in using customer insights to improve the customer experience and drive business results. Jodee’s experience also includes a number of years with Northwest Airlines, where she built a multi-channel contact center team to better understand and meet the needs of the company’s most valued customers.

Jodee holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.