Our people

Dr Jason Pallant is a Senior Lecturer at RMIT University, researching the impact of emerging technologies on customer experience. Jason has authored over 20 peer-reviewed academic studies on retail topics ranging from omnichannel retail, augmented reality, showrooming, and data privacy, and regularly shares his research as a featured author for Inside Retail. He has conducted research studies and consulting work for major national retailers, shopping centre operators, and industry associations and has presented at both academic and commercial conferences across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Jason is a judge for retail industry awards hosted by Inside Retail and the National Retail Association, and was named on ReThink Retail’s global Top Retail Experts list for 2023 and 2024 – the only Australian academic to be included.    Recently, Jason was Director of Knowledge Enablement at The Lumery, where he is leading the development of a new MarTech and CX learning platform.

Dr. M. S. Balaji is an Associate Professor of Marketing at RMIT University, researching services marketing, sustainability marketing, consumer behavior, and AI/Technology in marketing. His research focuses on services marketing, sustainability communication, and consumer behaviour, with a particular emphasis on how individuals respond to responsible and technology-enabled service environments. I have built a sustained research track record with publications in high-quality journals, including Journal of Retailing, Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, European Journal of Marketing, and Industrial Marketing Management, and have secured competitive research funding from national and international agencies   His research performance has developed alongside significant academic service and leadership roles, including department leadership, ethics governance, and program coordination across institutions in China and France. At RMIT, his focus is on strengthening collaborative research, supervising HDR candidates, and pursuing externally funded research in sustainability engagement and AI-mediated consumer behaviour. He intend to contribute to RMIT’s research priority areas in responsible management and sustainable development through high-impact publications, industry-linked research, and capacity-building within the research community.

Dr Linda Robinson is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing at RMIT University and represents academic staff in the College of Business and Law on RMIT's Academic Board.  A multi-method researcher, trained and practising in both qualitative and quantitative methods, Dr Robinson has experience managing large multi-method research projects in conjunction with industry partners. Her research interests lie at the intersection of marketing, management and psychology, where I have a special interest in team processes and the role of evolutionary psychology in the well-being of consumers and employees. She started her career specializing in the field of services, with a particular emphasis on the leadership and management of service teams as well as the individual and group psychology of service employees. More recent projects have expanded on this interest in team processes and employee wellbeing to examine co-opetition and data sharing. Other projects investigate design thinking in marketing education, the decision-making of low-resourced consumers for future-oriented consumption, and the development of consumer obsessions.    Associate Professor Robinson has previously served two terms on the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) Executive Committee (2018-2024), including three years as ANZMAC President (2022-2024). She has experience in organising international conferences, including as Co-Chair of the ANZMAC Conference in 2017, Global Marketing Conference in Seoul in 2023, Global Marketing Conference in Hong Kong in 2025, and the 2020 ANZMAC Doctoral Colloquium.   Dr Robinson teaching interests inlcude marketing research, strategic marketing and services marketing. She has perviously served as the Program Manager for the Master of Marketing program at RMIT University and as the Head of Department, Marketing.    With a passion for applied, career-oriented learning, she is the recipient of various teaching awards including three RMIT Vice-Chancellor Awards for Excellence, that reflect her leadership in learning and teaching initiatives that engage students and industry to improve learning outcomes.

Ashish Kumar is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing at RMIT University Melbourne, Australia. His research interests include digital marketing, social media marketing, multichannel retailing, and health marketing. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the School of Management and an M.A. in economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, both from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Information Systems Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Retailing.

Dr Aleti is a senior lecturer in marketing. His research investigates social and relational aspects of consumption choices and behaviour. See www.shapingconnections.org for more details.

Dr Jessica Pallant is a lecturer in Marketing in RMIT's School of Economics, Finance and Marketing. Her expertise spans consumer behaviour and market research, with a particular focus on how consumers interact with emerging technologies. Her PhD research on mass customization technologies explored consumer perceptions and segmentation, earning the ANZMAC Doctoral Colloquium Best Paper Award (2016). In 2023, she was recognized as ANZMAC Emerging Educator of the Year.   Jessica's current research examines AI's transformative impact on work, education, and creativity. Her published work on the paradoxes of AI in education offers valuable insights for both academic and industry audiences. Beyond academic publishing, she shares her expertise through industry workshops. Through her research and teaching, Jessica continues to bridge theoretical understanding with practical applications in our rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Dr Eldrin Hermoso is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Marketing at RMIT University. He holds a PhD in Business from the University of Sydney and currently serves as the Research Seminar and Brownbag Series Coordinator in the Marketing Department within the School of Economics, Finance, and Marketing.   Eldrin’s research focuses on understanding how consumers make decisions and identifying marketing interventions that can shape their behaviour. Methodologically, he primarily employs experimental approaches, drawing on real-world observations to develop research questions that are both theoretically meaningful and practically relevant. His work centres on sustainable consumption (including waste minimisation and product life extension), social influence, and consumer wellbeing, with the aim of generating novel theoretical insights alongside actionable implications for practitioners.   He has secured over $28,000 in competitive research funding from organisations including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. His work has been presented at industry events and leading international conferences such as the Association for Consumer Research, the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Marketing Science, and ANZMAC. His research has been published in the International Journal of Information Management, with additional projects currently being revised for leading marketing journals.   Eldrin’s research excellence has been recognised both internationally and within RMIT. His distinctions include being named a Finalist for the 2026 AMS Mary Kay Doctoral Dissertation Award, receiving a Best Working Paper (Honorable Mention) at the 2025 ACR Conference, and earning the 2025 CoBL Research Excellence Recognition for a Top 1% peer-reviewed journal publication. He has also received the 2022 ANZMAC Doctoral Colloquium People’s Choice Award and the 2021 ANZMAC Doctoral Colloquium Engagement Prize during his PhD candidature.   He is a member of leading professional associations, including the Association for Consumer Research, the Academy of Marketing Science, the American Marketing Association, the European Marketing Academy, the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy, and the Academy of Marketing.   Prior to joining RMIT, Eldrin taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the University of Sydney Business School, where he received teaching awards. He also held roles as a Subject Pool Administrator for the Marketing Discipline Group and as a Research Assistant on various academic projects. Eldrin was awarded the University Medal at the University of Technology Sydney, where he completed degrees in Business (First Class Honours) and Information Technology. Throughout his studies, he received numerous scholarships, Dean’s Merit List recognitions, and competitive travel grants, including support from ACR and the Sheth Foundation.

Dr. Kane Koh is an award-winning digital marketing academic who specializes in marketing science methods, applying marketing analytics, machine learning, and econometric modeling to both structured data (e.g., spreadsheets) and unstructured data (e.g., video, audio, text). His research spans pet adoption, content monetization, social live streaming services, and customer experiences. In addition to the multiple awards below, he has secured over $27,000 in competitive grant funding, most notably from the Marketing Science Institute.   Current Roles: MKTG1415 & 1427 Digital Marketing Cource Coordinator & Subject Desginer Founding Member of the MarTech Lab at the Colleve of Business & Law at RMIT University If you are a business interested in partnering or conducting research through our state-of-the-art lab, please email Kane directly    Email him if you are interested in: Industry & Research Collaborations: Includes data-driven digital marketing strategies and ventures with real, practical and/or social impact Research: Current lead researcher for a project aimed at saving pets with PetRescue, Australia's largest online pet adoption platform. Teaching: Partnered with Anglicare Victoria, Cancer 365 Prevention Society, Realestate Group PhD Supervision: When crafting your request, state: How you meet the eligilbity criteria on the PhD information page  Details of proposed research projects you want to study  What value you want him to provide you as a supervisor  Special note: Do not use AI to write a superficial supervision request to him. He will know.  Media Enquiries. Recent features: How the Yo-Chi line in Melbourne and Sydney proves if you’re rich or poor.  News.com.au. Australia Why are people so obsessed with Labubu? Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Canada  Protecting your digital self: Could Denmark’s likeness law work in Australia? AdNews. Australia   Awards First Prize for Michael J. Baker Doctoral Thesis Awards 2026 (2026, July 8)  Winner for Overall Best Paper for the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) Conference (2025, December 3)  Runner-up for the CoBLwealth Games 2025, with team “Marginal Gains” (2025, November 27)  Winner for Best Paper in Track “Advertising and Marketing Communications” for the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) Conference (2025, November)  Winner for the ADVC's LT&Q EdTech Encouragement Award at RMIT University (2025, September) Runner-up for the AMS Review/Sheth Foundation - Doctoral Competition for Conceptual Articles (DoCCA) (2025, March) Winner for the Honorable Mention at the Doctoral Colloquium for the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) Conference (2024, December) Winner for the Doctoral Best Paper Award 2024 [Best Journal Article under Review] at the University of Melbourne (2024, November) Finalist for the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) 2024 Dissertation Competition (2024, November) Highly recommended runner-up for Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated (ACSPRI) Fellowship (2023, December) Winner for the 1st annual Doctoral Program Poster Sessions at the Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Melbourne (2023, November) Finalist for the 3-Minute-Thesis Competition (3MT) at the University of Melbourne (2023, September) Winner for the Relationship Marketing Special Interest Group (RMSIG) Doctoral Student Award for notable research in the area of Relationship Marketing (2023, August) Winner for the AMS Review/Sheth Foundation - Doctoral Competition for Conceptual Articles (DoCCA) (2023, May)

Anni Cheng is a Lecturer in Marketing in RMIT's School of Economics, Finance and Marketing. Anni holds a PhD in Marketing from Monash University. Her research interests include using experimental methods to study consumer behaviour, sustainable marketing, and inclusive marketing.    Her research has been published in the International Journal of Advertising. Her work has been presented at academic conferences, including the AMA Winter Academic Conference, ANZMAC and ACR.    Prior to RMIT, Anni was working at Science Says. She specialises in market research translation and B2B consulting, solving problems for companies like Mars Inc.