Peter Aykens is chief of research in Gartner’s HR practice. He is responsible for defining research coverage within the practice and building and leading research teams addressing client’s key initiatives. In prior roles at the firm, he spent over 25 years leading research teams focused on banking and financial services strategy, producing numerous studies that addressed business strategy, channel, marketing, customer experience and product issues in financial services. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from St. Olaf College; an MSc.(Econ) degree in international politics from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; and a Master of Arts and a doctorate in political science from Brown University.