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

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.”