Primary Research — Est. 2008 — New York, NY
The next generation of primary research.
Ridgetop Research builds bespoke analyst pods for a select group of institutional investors — sourcing fresh, non-commoditized expert perspective inside a compliance framework built for the work from day one.
New York · Charlotte
About Ridgetop
Founded on one idea: every client deserves a dedicated team, not a shared directory.
Each engagement is staffed by a pod of recruiting analysts — screened, trained on our own methodology, and focused on a single mandate at a time. The result is a bench of proprietary, non-commoditized experts, sourced specifically for your thesis, project by project.
Leadership
Chip Emery
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Chip founded Ridgetop Research in 2008 and currently serves as the company's Chief Executive Officer. A pioneer in the investment research industry, Chip was one of the first hires at Vista Research in 2002, where he served for six years as First Vice President and Sales Manager and was instrumental in leading the firm to its eventual acquisition by Standard & Poor's in 2005. In 1998, Chip joined broadcast.com, where he helped launch NetRoadshow, a start-up provider of end-to-end webcast solutions for the financial services community; broadcast.com became part of Yahoo in 1999. Chip began his research career at Multex in 1997, selling services to buy-side institutions. He received a B.A. in English Literature from Lake Forest College in 1993.
John (Quin) Bell
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer
John is the Chief Operating Officer of Ridgetop Research, where he oversees the firm's relationships and strategy. A pivotal member of the team since inception, John has been integral to the company's growth and success. Prior to joining Ridgetop Research, he was an Institutional Sales Trader for E*TRADE Financial, where he spent six years facilitating equity trade execution in domestic and international markets. John holds a B.S. in Business from Wake Forest University, where he graduated in 2002.
Christopher Wallace
Chief Revenue Officer
Chris is Chief Revenue Officer at Ridgetop Research, where he is responsible for the firm's business development. He joined the company in 2009 from Vista Research, a division of Standard & Poor's, where he spent four years as Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager of Institutional Sales. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Director of Brokerage Sales at Preferred Capital Markets, Inc. Prior to that, Chris was Vice President of Institutional Equity Research Sales at Sands Brothers & Company Ltd., where he launched the firm's first San Francisco branch office. Chris graduated from Hamilton College in 1992.
Sean Meekins
Senior Managing Director
Sean manages Ridgetop's Charlotte office, where he has progressed through the firm's analyst pod structure — from Associate to Senior Managing Director. Before joining Ridgetop, Sean interned with RBC. He holds a B.S. in Economics from Trinity College.
From Our Clients
"Sourcing a fresh bench of consultants for every project is a far more efficient model than the standard primary research approach we'd used before."Institutional Client
"They'd effectively built the exact process we were trying to learn — finding that out reshaped our whole approach to the project."Portfolio Manager
"What stands out is the follow-through. Ridgetop stayed on top of a tricky situation and had help to us fast — that kind of responsiveness is rare."Research Director
Solutions
Two ways to reach the people who matter.
Custom Recruiting Platform
A dedicated coverage team built around your research needs — not a shared call list.
- Coverage teams trained around each client's specific research focus
- Multilingual recruiting analysts source experts across every sector, worldwide
- A proprietary methodology built to surface targeted, non-commoditized consultants
- Experts are engaged project by project, for the life of the mandate
- A compliance portal automates workflows and adapts to client-specific audit and reporting requirements
Surveys & Panels
Sampling, fieldwork, and analytics across online, telephone, and mobile channels.
- Online survey fieldwork — sampling, programming, and data delivery
- Field teams across 78 countries through 26 international offices
- 2,000+ CATI stations for telephone fieldwork
- Three dedicated panels: Consumer, B2B, and Healthcare
- End-to-end questionnaire design and methodology consulting
Compliance
Compliance isn't a department here. It's the foundation.
Every consultant is screened, trained, and documented before a single introduction is made — and every workflow can be shaped around your own audit requirements.
- A client compliance portal automates the review workflow end to end
- Every consultant is screened against a strict conflicts-of-interest framework
- Rules of engagement and recruiting methodology are agreed with each client up front
- All consultants complete documentation and training before being presented
- Continuing education keeps every consultant current on its obligations
- Supplementary client documentation and approvals slot directly into the platform
Chaperone Services
An independent compliance presence on every call.
In partnership with ACA, a leading regulatory compliance firm, Ridgetop offers two tiers of call chaperoning — a silent, independent presence on every consultation.
Standard chaperoning
- Attends the consultation as a silent observer
- Produces detailed minutes — introductions, information exchanged, and closing remarks
- Flags overall conversation risk, including MNPI, forward-looking statements, and personal opinions
- Cross-checks public information against filings such as 10-Qs
- Verifies public-company employment and pre-approval paperwork
Everything in Level 01, plus
- Collects attestations, employer disclosures, and "no-trade" confirmations
- Runs regularly scheduled due-diligence calls
- Reconciles figures discussed against public disclosures
- Pre-briefs on subject matter, terminology, and acronyms ahead of each call
Careers
Join the analyst pods.
We're always looking for recruiting analysts who are curious, multilingual, and meticulous about compliance.
View open rolesWork With Us
Tell us about your next mandate.
Share your research focus and timeline, and we'll put a dedicated pod together.
Contact our team