In-Person Meeting – Minskoff Pavilion M109 – Friday, September 19th, 2025 – 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Our wonderful and diverse MSMRA Advisory Board members represent a cross-section of business, industry, strategic organizations, and industry associations. As leaders in their industry, they bring a broad spectrum of experiences and world-views that enrich our students’ learning experience.
Our dedicated board members have a passion for marketing research, a commitment to advancing the value of our work, a desire to improve the status of marketing researchers as senior strategists/advisors, and a willingness to help develop the next generation of business and marketing leaders.
We are committed to the highest excellence of the MSMRA program. As an advisory board member, you will be able to make an impact in different ways including: involvement in our thought leadership events; providing ad hoc marketing research projects; hosting our MSMRA student internships; or even sponsoring your employees to attend the MSMRA program. We truly appreciate the continuous support of and investment in our program. If becoming a member of the MSMRA Advisory Board interests you, please contact Jessica Richards.
Kerry Hecht
CEO & Founder at 10K Humans
Kristal Courter
VP, Insights at Accelerant Research
Ray Fisher
CEO at Aha! Online Qual Research
Remy Szykier
President at Ambitna
Kelly Jasper
EVP, Corporate Strategy & Innovation at AMC Global
Erin Russeck
Chief Research Officer at AMC Global
Ryan Barry
CEO at Appcues
Lara Rice
Managing Director at Ascribe
Shanon Adams
President & COO at AYTM
Lev Mazin
CEO & Co-Founder at AYTM
Lauren Mills
Associate Director, Account Management at AYTM
Tiffany Mullin
VP, Growth Operations at AYTM
Stephanie Vance
VP, Research & Client Enablement at AYTM
Kim Bailiff
Chief Insight Detective, Bailiff Consulting
Kathy Alexander
Founder & Chief Strategist at Beagle Insights, Inc.
Cathy Cottle
VP, Client Strategy at Big Village
Arturo Fausto
Manager, Market Insights at BlueCross BlueShield
Aaron Turner
Director, Market Research & Consumer Insights at BlueCross BlueShield
Gavin Lew
Managing Partner at Bold Insight
Kate Ioas
Expert Consultant at Boston Consulting Group
Andy Davidson
Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Bright Mountain Media
Robert Moran
Partner at Brunswick Group
Jim Berling
Managing Director at Burke Institute
Tricia Batoha
President at Business Research Group
Jonathan Weiser
VP, Healthcare Research & Strategy at BuzzBack
Jorge Martinez-Bonilla
SVP & Partner at C+R Research
Gina Sus
SVP & Partner at C+R Research
Audrey Tripp
Senior Analyst, Quantitative Research at C+R Research
Jennifer Slegers
Director, CRM at Carhartt
Courtnie Hallendy
VP, Accelerate at Chadwick Martin Bailey
Anna Duffy
Director, Global Consumer Solutions at Circana
Shilpa Khanna
Associate Director, Transformational Growth Insights at The Clorox Company
Richard Goldman
CEO at Competiscan
Paul Rossman
Senior Director, Consumer Strategy & Insights at Constellation Brands
Cory Schwartz
President & Founder at ConsumerQuest Inc.
Melissa Ozdych
Manger, Insights & Analytics at Corewell Health
Matt O’Mara
Managing Director at Cranbrook Search Consultants
Fred Freers
Director, Market Insights at Cummins
Ivan Iazdi
Director, Global Aftermarket at Cummins
Bryan Fitzsimmons
Director, Insights, Digital Marketing, & Marketing Operations at Dawn Foods Global
Sarah Hickey
VP, Marketing at Dawn Foods Global
Raj Manocha
CRO at Delvinia
Lawrence Wu
Group Marketing Director at Detroit Medical Center
Tim Laake
EVP at The Directions Group
Stacey Wetterer
SVP at Talent at The Directions Group
Todd Collins
Senior Director, Consumer Insights at Discover Financial Services
David Duganne
Manager, Consumer Insights at DISH Network
Dan Snider
Managing Director, Customer Insights at Ducker Carlisle
Joanne Ulnick
Managing Principal at Ducker Carlisle
Jason Mantel
EVP, Managing Director at Escalent
Melissa Sauter
CEO at Escalent
Julia Celata
COO at Eye Square Inc
Rebecca Cohen
Senior Manager, Channel & Customer Strategy at Fairlife
Amy Alfieri
Director, Digital Research & Analysis at FedEx
Bob Quiqley
Manager, Global Consumer Insights at Ford Motor Company
Joseph Robele
Cross-Vehicle Research at Ford Motor Company
David Shepherd
Global Research Manager at Ford Motor Company
Kathryn Radmacher
Manager, Brand Research at General Motors
Noah Sullivan
Consumer Insights Analyst at General Motors
Eric Villain
Managing Director, Consumer & Marketing Insights at GfK
Brett Simpson
VP, Research Insights at GLG
Marie Van Blaricum
Senior Director, Global Insights at Google
Leonard Murphy
Chief Advisor, Insights & Development at Greenbook
Eli Ackerman
COO at Grow Process
Jen Loukes
Managing Director at The Harris Poll
Kate Britt
Director, Client Success at Human8
Scott Caine
EVP/CIO/Partner at Idealyst Innovation
Justin Graves
Founder & CEO at Infegy
Julie Kurd
Chief Customer Officer at Intuify
Leabe Commisso
SVP/Sr. Client Officer at Ipsos
Andrew Lisoskie
Qualitative Research at Ipsos
Rogerio Monteiro
SVP, Senior Client Officer at Ipsos
Grace Sigouin
Senior Research Analyst, Innovation at Ipsos
Garnette Weber
Co-Founder & CEO at itracks
Kathy Fitzpatrick
VP, Client Development at itracks
Michelle Ruiz
Managing Director, Consumer Insights at J.D. Power
Lindsay Clarke Baxter
VP, Reward Insights Americas & Global Programs at Kantar
Anita Watkins
Chief Global Qualitative Solutions Lead at Kantar
Michael McCune
Senior Director at Kellanova
Katherine Ephlin
EVP Research at KJT
Katrina Noelle
President at KNow Research
Katia Kolesnitchenko
Senior Consumer Insights Analyst at Kohler
Carrie Seymour
Director, Consumer Insights at Kohler
Daniel Wang
Senior Consumer Insights Analyst at Kohler
Doug Healy
Head of Consumer Insights at KraftHeinz
Christine Nelson
EVP & Principal at KS&R
Jorge Calvachi
Director, Insights at La-Z-Boy Inc.
Laura Bayzle
Managing Partner at The Link Group
Raja Gupta
Managing Partner at The Link Group
Tim Pascoe
VP & Partner at Lynx Research Consulting
Merrill Dubrow
CEO at M/A/R/C Research
Brian Dundon
SVP at MarketVision Research
Tyler McMullen
President & CEO at MarketVision Research
Jacci Weber
Director, Pet Parent Insights at Mars Petcare
Josh Emington
VP, Strategic Consulting & Market Research at The Martec Group
Dave Posthumus
Business Development Executive at The Martec Group
Jennifer Kitchen
Strategy Execution Manager at Meijer
Jeff Nault
Director, Data Science & Analytics at Meijer
Steve Whayne
Assistant Director, Employer Relations at Miami University Regionals
Bernard Brenner
Senior Director, Research at Microsoft
Barry Jennings
Director, Cloud & Commercial Business Planning Insights at Microsoft
Dale DeBoer
Senior Manager, Customer Insights & Marketing Analytics at Milliken
Maggie Bright
SVP, General Manager at Murphy Research
Heather Sajeski
SVP of People at National Research Group
Mindy Singer
Senior Director, Consumer Insights & Research at NFL
David Terebessy
Head of Americas Consumer Insights at Nissan
Scott Stein
SVP, Client Development at OpinionRoute
David Elster
Director, Insights & Strategy at Orangetheory Fitness
Harry Davidson
Manager, Regional Business & Market Intelligence at Owens-Illinois
Jamin Brazil
COO at Parsec Education
Josh Goldfinch
Senior Director, Global Head of Customer Insights at PayPal
Meagan Jamieson
Senior Manager, Product Management at Marvin
Don Golden
CEO at Precision Sample LLC
Joseph Wylie
Director, Global Supply at Precision Sample LLC
Lisa Allgaier-Speck
CRO at Qrious Insight
Nihal Advani
Founder & CEO at QualSights
Andrea Joss
SVP, Insights & Strategy at Quester
Scott Worthge
Research Director at Quest Mindshare
Laura Pulito
VP, Research at Recollective
Chris Riepe
SVP, Insights & Analytics at ReconMR
Maya Kantak
Lead, Consumer UX Researcher at Rocket Mortgage
Lauren Hughey
Customer Insights Manager at Ryder System Inc.
John Trenholm
Senior Director, Customer Insights at Ryder System Inc.
Isaac Rogers
President at Sago
Steve Schlesinger
Executive Chairman at Sago
Kevin Srigley
President & CEO at Schmidt Market Research
Cyril Benitah
SVP, North America Portfolio Planning at Stellantis
Ana Avalos
Associate Manager, Concept Insights at Stryker
Dale Sanko
Senior Director, Experience Insights at Target
Maggie Donovan
Manager, Lexus Consumer Insights at Toyota
Whitney Kennedy
Senior Manager, Consumer Insights at Toyota
Sarah Phillips
SVP at TRC Insights
Samantha Zaleski
VP, Strategic Initiatives at Tunnl
Julie Hermann
Director, Consumer Insights at Ulta Beauty
Molly Radu
Manager, Consumer Insights at Ulta Beauty
Scott Rozek
Owner & Senior Partner at Unisearch Partners Inc.
Scott Miller
Chairman of the Board at United Exports Limited
Dan Bot
Senior Director, Strategic Insights at UnitedHealth Group
Steve Marasco
Head of CFO Data & Analytics at USAA
Alexis Mast
Senior Business Strategy Analyst at USAA
Scott Miller
Board Member at Vision Critical
Bryant Leech
Owner at Wasatch Research & Consulting
Tom York
Research Director at Willis Towers Watson
Mark Resnick
VP, Sales at Zappi
Ryan Zemel
Senior Manager, Global Sales Strategy at Zappi
Supporting our students throughout their program is our priority. As such, our board funds are used to assist with hiring our MSMRA students to work on marketing research projects for partnering companies and community organizations. These funds also assist supporting more marketing research projects for companies and organizations, and offering more paid opportunities to our MSMRA students while they are attending this STEM master’s program.
The John Gongos Memorial Scholarship was established to promote the market research industry through the direct support of our MSMRA program at Michigan State University. The scholarship was launched at the September 2012 MSMRA Advisory Board Meeting.
John Gongos was founder and CEO of Gongos Research, Inc. until his untimely death in 2012 at age 51.
Gongos, of Rochester Hills, formed the marketing research firm in 1991 and built it into a $23 million company serving companies such as Hallmark Cards Inc., Best Buy Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.
In 2007, the company was first named to Inc. magazine’s list of the 5000 “Fastest Growing Companies in America.” It is among the Honomichl Top 50 U.S. marketing research organizations. Gongos received his B.S. in marketing at Miami University–Ohio and his MBA in marketing and quantitative analysis at the University of Cincinnati.
Although he was from the state of Ohio, John held a deep place in his heart for Michigan. John said, “Our experience has been that if young people can find a great job in a field that they like, they will stay here. People really want to stay here if they find the right company.” He created that kind of company, with a unique culture that made it very attractive to MSU grads.
John and his firm were instrumental in helping found the Broad Master of Science in Marketing Research and Analytics program. Gongos, Inc. continues to be a key partner in serving on the advisory board, providing internships and full-time jobs to MSMRA students, and being an advocate of the program. The initiative for this endowment was started by Matt O’Mara, an MSU MBA grad, with support from the marketing research community.
John was a man of great vision for his firm and the industry, and, perhaps more importantly, he was a man of true integrity. His vision was consistent with the principles of the MSMRA program:
“Our industry has changed more in the last five years than in the 15 years prior to that… It will probably change even more in the next five years.”