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MSMRA Board

Our diverse MSMRA Advisory Board members represent a cross-section of business, strategic organizations, and industry associations. They bring a vast wealth of knowledge including:

  • A broad spectrum of experiences
  • A passion for marketing research
  • A commitment to advancing the value of our work
  • A desire to improve the status of marketing researchers
  • Career experience as strategic advisors
  • A willingness to develop the next generation of leaders

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
  • sponsoring your employees to study within 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.

MSMRA ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Kerry Hecht
CEO & Founder at 10K Humans

Kristal Courter
VP, Insights at Accelerant Research

Ray Fisher
CEO at Aha! Insights Technology

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

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, Customer Experience & Research Strategy at aytm

Kim Bailiff
Chief Insight Detective, Bailiff Consulting

Kathy Alexander
Founder & Chief Strategist at Beagle Insights, Inc.

Arturo Fausto
Manager, Market Insights at BlueCross BlueShield of MI

Aaron Turner
Director, Market Research & Consumer Insights at BlueCross BlueShield of MI

Gavin Lew
Managing Partner at Bold Insight

Kate Ioas
Expert Consultant at Boston Consulting Group

Andy Davidson
Chief Data Officer, Managing Director Insights/Analytics at Bright Mountain

Robert Moran
Partner at Brunswick Group

Patricia Salamone
VP, Client Services at Burke Inc.

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 Research Analyst, Quantitative Research at C+R Research

Jennifer Slegers
Director, CRM at Carhartt

Courtnie Hallendy
VP at Chadwick Martin Bailey

Anna Duffy
Director, Global Consumer Solutions at Circana

Shilpa Khanna
Associate Director, Transformational Growth Insights at The Clorox Company

Rebecca Cohen
Senior Manager, Human Insights at The Coca-Cola Company

Richard Goldman
CEO & Founder at Competiscan

Paul Rossman
Senior Director 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

Catherine Cottle
VP at C Space

Fred Freers
Director, Market Insights at Cummins

Ivan Iazdi
Director, Global Aftermarket at Cummins

Bryan Fitzsimmons
Senior Director, Digital Marketing & Product Experience at Dawn Foods Global

Sarah Hickey
VP, Marketing at Dawn Foods Global

Jennifer LaPaugh
Director, Creative Services & Insights & Dawn Foods Global

Kate Rouse DuHadway
Consumer Research & Insights Project Leader, CX Innovation at Delta Air Lines

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
General Manager, Consumer Insights at DISH Network

Sydney Rosen
Consumer Insights Project Lead at Domino’s

Dan Snider
Managing Director, Customer Insights at Ducker Carlisle

Joanne Ulnick
Managing Principal at Ducker Carlisle

Bernard Brenner
Chief Strategy Officer at Emerald Research Group

Jason Mantel
EVP, Managing Director at Escalent

Melissa Sauter
CEO at Escalent

Barry Jennings
North American Ambassador at ESOMAR

Marisa Sadan
Senior Analytical Consultant at Equifax

Julia Celata
COO at Eye Square Inc

Amy Alfieri
Director, Digital Research & Analysis at FedEx

Bob Quigley
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 – An NIQ Company

Brett Simpson
SVP, Research at GLG

Marie Van Blaricum
Senior Director, Global Insights at Google

Leonard Murphy
Chief Advisor, Insights & Development at Greenbook

Jen Loukes
SVP, Tech & Entertainment Research 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

Jordan Cusner
Senior Director, Consumer Insights & Research at Inspire

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, Total Reward Solutions at Kantar

Anita Watkins
Chief Global Qualitative Solutions Lead at Kantar

Katherine Ephlin
EVP Research at KJT

Kevin Lonnie
CEO at KLC

Dan Womack
President at KLC

Katrina Noelle
Founder 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

Michael McCune
Senior Director, Integrated Commercial Analytics at Mars

Jacci Weber
Director, Pet Parent Insights at Mars Petcare

Josh Emington
Partner & Co-Owner 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

Dale DeBoer
Senior Manager, Customer Insights & Marketing Analytics at Milliken

Scott Worthge
Founder & Principal Consultant at mktresearchguy LLC

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

Madeleine Junkunc
Consulting Manager at NielsenIQ

David Terebessy
Head of Americas Consumer Insights at Nissan

Scott Stein
SVP, Client Development at OpinionRoute

Jamin Brazil
COO at Parsec Education

Josh Goldfinch
Senior Director, Global Head of Customer Insights at PayPal

Meagan Jamieson
Director, Product Portfolio Management at Marvin

Lisa Allgaier-Speck
CRO at Qrious Insight

Nihal Advani
Founder & CEO at QualSights

Patrick Loewen
Senior Brand Experience Project Manager at Qualtrics

Andrea Joss
SVP, Insights & Strategy at Quester

Joseph Wylie
Director, Global Supply at ReachCollective

Laura Pulito
VP, Research at Recollective

Christian Riepe
SVP, Insights & Analytics at ReconMR

Maya Kantak
Lead, Consumer UX Researcher at Rocket

Lauren Hughey
Senior Manager, Customer Insights at Ryder System Inc.

John Trenholm
Senior Director, Customer Research & Strategy at Ryder System Inc.

Melanie Courtright
Chief Strategy Officer at Sago

Kevin Srigley
President & CEO at Schmidt Market Research

Cyril Benitah
SVP, Global Body-on-Frame Planning at Stellantis

Ana Avalos
Associate Manager, Concept Insights at Stryker

Dale Sanko
Senior Director, Consumer Insights at Target

Heather Garris
Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights at Toyota

Whitney Kennedy
Senior Manager, Consumer Insights at Toyota

Kyle Mallad
Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights at Toyota

Sarah Phillips
SVP at TRC Insights

Isaac Rogers
CEO at TriVoca Health

Samantha Zaleski
VP, Strategic Initiatives at Tunnl

Scott Rozek
Owner & Senior Partner at Unisearch Partners Inc.

Dan Bot
Senior Director, Strategic Insights at UnitedHealth Group

Bridget Millar
President at Unmuted Consumer Insights

Steve Marasco
Head of CFO Data & Analytics at USAA

Alexis Mast
Senior Business Strategy Analyst at USAA

Lara Rice
Product Manager at Voxco

Bryant Leech
Owner at Wasatch Research & Consulting

Tom York
Director of CX/UX & Product Research at WTW

Maya Ganatra
Senior Research Strategist at Wonderlust Collective, Inc.

Mark Resnick
VP, Sales at Zappi

Ryan Zemel
Director, Global Solutions Strategy at Zappi

Giving Opportunities

Master of Science in Marketing Research Board Fund

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.

How to give

  • Visit Make a Gift to MSU
  • In the “Type Here to Search for Funds” field, type: “Master of Science in Marketing Research Board” and you will then see a green “add to cart” button. Add to cart.
  • Leave the “select a college or program section” blank
  • Add the amount in the “My Gift Cart” section and go to checkout
  • Complete donation

John Gongos Memorial Scholarship Fund

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.

How to give

  • Visit Make a Gift to MSU
  • In the “Type Here to Search for Funds” field, type: “John Gongos Memorial Scholarship Fund” and you will then see a green “add to cart” button. Add to cart.
  • Leave the “select a college or program section” blank
  • Add the amount in the “My Gift Cart” section and go to checkout
  • Complete donation

About John Gongos

John Gongos portrait

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.”