For the first time in the long history of Askia’s New Year cards, we had a whole group of people gracing the front page image. There are a few good reasons for this.
Firstly, we wanted to celebrate the coming together of MyForce and Askia as part of the Ipsos group. The acquisition of MyForce has been an Askia goal for many years, and Ipsos made it possible! The team at MyForce have been working closely with Askia clients for the past 20 years, by providing expertise in the market research call centres, speech technology tools and hosted infrastructure.
MyForce has also been the exclusive reseller of the Askia survey software suite in Benelux for all this time, so they know Askia inside out.
This acquisition, which completed in October 2024, was a very logical and natural addition to Askia – we were always very close friends and now we are family. It is an exciting moment.
Secondly, this was a good opportunity for Askia’s founders to take a step back from running the operations. Maarten Bossuyt, formerly of MyForce, will now lead Askia as MD with Dietmar Dzierzawa and Richard Collins joining him on the executive committee. Jérôme and Patrick remain part of Askia but are no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the business and are dedicating most of their time to Ipsos initiatives at the group level. The keen-eyed amongst you will be able to spot them on the card, but for once they are not the centre of attention or dressed in a compromising way.
Thirdly, Askia has always been a company with fantastic ‘esprit de corps’ and achieved success by working as a great team. It is the right time to acknowledge that fact on this year’s Askia card.
Maarten Bossuyt says, “the coming together of Askia and MyForce within the Ipsos group marks both a logical progression and a significant leap forward. I am thrilled that our teams will now operate as one, with a renewed dedication to delivering exceptional software and service to all our customers. As Henry Ford aptly put it, ‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.’ I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire Askia family for their steadfast belief and support. A special thank you goes to Jérôme and Patrick for their trust in me and their unwavering support for the Askia team. Without their contributions, our lives would certainly be quite different!”.
Patrick George Lassale adds, “Jérôme and I started Askia about 30 years ago and it is still growing within the industry. The Ipsos acquisition made us stronger than ever and the consolidation with MyForce is a demonstration that Ipsos’ strategy is about supporting the Askia footprint in the MR industry”.
If you would like to receive this year’s Askia card, then drop us a line with your postal address at contact@askia.com and we will get one out to you.
