Judging Committee

Chris Bacon - EVP, Research & Innovation: Foundations of Quality, The ARF

Chris Bacon serves as EVP of Global Research Quality and Innovation at The ARF. In this role, he leads the Foundation's Research Quality initiatives, and steers multiple Forum programs, including the Generations Forum, and Shopper Forum. Prior to The ARF, Chris led the global consumer and shopper insights team at the E. & J. Gallo Winery since March 2006. Prior to joining Gallo, Chris was Global Director of Consumer Insights for the Personal Care Division of Colgate-Palmolive.

Will Bottinick - SVP, Social Listening & Servicing, Citi

Will Bottinick leads Global Social Insights and Servicing on behalf of Citi’s consumer bank. Prior to joining Citi, Will led Converseon’s Social Intelligence practice, supporting Fortune 100 clients and helping them understand the nature of online conversations about their company and the impact they have on brand perception and health.

Artie Bulgrin - SVP, Research & Analytics, ESPN

Artie Bulgrin is the SVP of Research and Analytics at ESPN. Prior to ESPN, Artie was Director of Research and Sales Data Services at ABC National Television Sales, Inc. He is a past President of the Radio and Television Research Council and former chairman of the Media Ratings Council and The ARF. Artie is also a board member of The ARF and serves on its executive committee.

Andrew Chapman - Senior Analyst, Caesar Entertainment.

Andrew is currently a Senior Business Analyst at Caesars Entertainment providing analytical support for the media, entertainment, and real money online gaming teams. Previously, he served in a number of analyst positions supporting loyalty marketing and customer engagement at Caesars. Andrew currently resides in Las Vegas and is a 2012 graduate from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Joe Cashen - Senior Manager, Marketing Analytics, Nissan North America

Joe Cashen leads the Marketing Analytics team within Nissan’s Market Intelligence group responsible for optimizing the effectiveness and ROI of the automaker’s marketing budget. Joe was previously responsible for product development, marketing communications and brand equity research at Nissan. He has over 20 years of automotive experience, having held former positions at the manufacturer, agency, internet retailer, and research supplier levels.

Josh Chasin - Chief Research Officer, comScore, Inc.

Josh Chasin, Chief Research Officer at comScore, Inc., has more than 25 years of experience in media and market research. Prior to joining comScore, Josh was the principal and founder of Warp Speed Marketing, Inc., a Manhattan-based media research consultancy. He is also a former executive at Arbitron, Inc., and a past President & CEO of Simmons Market Research Bureau and Northstar Interactive. Josh holds a B.S. in marketing from NYU and an M.B.A. in marketing management from Pace University.

Victor Davidson - VP, Group Account Director, Analytics, Research & Technology, Havas Media

Victor Davidson is VP and Director of Analytics and Research at Havas Media. He joined Havas Media from Lightspeed Research, where he was a senior research manager of Bahavioral Research. He has over 10 years of analytics and client service experience with companies like Forrester and Catalina Marketing.

Dr. Thomas Evans - CEO, DTE Research

Dr. Thomas Evans is the CEO of DTE Research. Previously, he was VP of Audio Research & Special Projects for ESPN where he was responsible for providing strategic research support and guidance for ESPN's emerging radio and digital audio businesses, supervising new internal research projects as well as providing leadership for new industry initiatives. His 30-year research career has included working for the Southwest Center for Urban Research, the Institute for Urban Studies, NBC, Westwood One, Arbitron, Nielsen Media Research, and ABC. Dr. Tom's diverse research experience also includes studying personalizing higher education for the Governor of Texas and researching the efforts of U.S. industry in the 1970s to move toward peace priorities for Senator Edward Kennedy.

John B. Ford, Ph.D. - Professor of Marketing and International Business and Eminent Scholar, Strome College of Business, Old Dominion University; Executive Editor, Journal of Advertising Research

John B. Ford is co-executive editor of the Journal of Advertising Research and handles the blind peer review process for U.S. submissions. Based in Norfolk, Va., John is an eminent scholar and professor of marketing and international business at Old Dominion University. His research has focused on cross-cultural advertising strategy issues. In particular, he has specialized in viewer perceptions of gender-role portrayals in international advertising. John’s work has been published in a wide variety of journals including Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

Gayle Fuguitt - CEO & President, The ARF

Gayle Fuguitt became the first woman to lead The ARF when she became Chief Executive Officer and President in April 2013. She spent 32 years at General Mills, where she was lauded for bringing the voice of the consumer to the decision table. She has served on the board and executive committeeof The ARF from 2005 to 2012. A passionate supporter of non-profits, she remains a trustee at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Gayle was inducted into the Market Research Council, Inc (MRC)'s Hall of Fame in 2014.

Bruce Goerlich - Chief Research Officer, Rentrak

Bruce Goerlich is CRO at Rentrak where he helps the industry employ Rentrak intelligence to find and leverage the best media opportunities. Prior to Rentrak, he wa president of Strategic Services at Zenith Optimedia North America, An in-demand speaker at The ARF, AAAA, ANA, and other industry events around the country, Bruce previously served as chairman if The ARF and President of the Market Research Council.

Brett Gordon - Associate Professor of Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Brett Gordon is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern Univeristy. Previously, he was the Class of 1967 Associate Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. His research focuses on empirical industrial organization, with an emphasis on questions pertaining to pricing, promotion, advertising, innovation, and competitive strategy.previously served as chairman if The ARF and President of the Market Research Council.

Gunnard Johnson - SVP, Data & Analytics, Centro

Gunnard Johnson, SVP of Data & Analytics at Centro, is focused on strengthening Centro’s leadership team to drive audience measurement and advanced analytic solutions. Prior to Centro, Gunnard was the Advertising Research Director for Google, where he led the Americas team and influenced Google’s push into brand measurement. An industry leader, Gunnard has worked with the IAB to define the next generation of engagement metrics, The ARF where he has spoken at multiple conferences on topics such as brand measurement and big data, and multiple consortium efforts to improve cross-media measurement via next generation media mix and attribution models. He has an undergraduate degree in political science and a master’s in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan.

Charles Kennedy - ARF West Member Engagement Officer, The ARF

Charles Kennedy is the ARF West Member Engagement Officer at The ARF, In this role, Charles is guiding The ARF in the "leading and bleeding edge" of innovation and foresight, identifying and leading the lastest and most important research needs facing the industry. Prior to The ARF, Charles was EVP, Research and Insights for NBCU Cable Entertainment.

Eurry Kim - Researcher, Facebook

Eurry Kim is a researcher on Facebook's Monetization Analytics ream and focuses on social TV chatter and the creaticity of ads. Eurry was recently awarded a master's degree in quantitative social sciences from Columbia Univeristy in the City of New York. Prior to her academic work, she spent over four years with the IRS analyzing e-filed corporated tax data.

Chad Maxwell - SVP, Research & Insights, Starcom MediaVest

Chad R. Maxwell, SVP of Research at Starcom MediaVest Group, has a passion for people and their relationships with technology and media. His team uncovers consumer insights, builds brand opportunities, and drives media productivity to solve business challenges. Chad’s clients include Kraft, Airbnb, and Samsung. Prior to this, Chad led Razorfish’s Research practice.

Mainak Mazumdar - Chief Science Officer, Simulmedia

Mainak Mazumdar, Chief Science Officer of Simulmedia, is responsible for managing Simulmedia’s data science team in leading the invention and innovation of measurement methods and in using data science to differentiate their products. Mainak has nearly 20 years experience leading strategic initiatives and innovation programs integrating digital with core research. Previously, Mainak was Chief Strategy Officer at GfK. Mainak holds a B.A. from American Universitaire, Switzerland, and has completed an M.A. and doctoral work from Brown University. He holds U.S. patents in audience measurement and data integration techniques.

Satya Menon - Chief Marketing Scientist, MIllward Brown

Satya Menon leads the Marketing Accountability area and Marketing Science operations of Millward Brown North America. Satya has a unique background that spans 20+ years of quantitative market research, consulting and academic research and teaching at top business schools in the U.S. She has substantial expertise in assessing marketing effectiveness, long-term and short-term ROI of advertising, and in connecting multiple data-streams to derive intelligent insights.

Maggie Merklin - SVP, Analytic Partners

Maggie Merklin is Senior Vice President at Analytic Partners responsible for global business development with a focus on new solutions and innovations. She puts emphasis on bringing added value to the analytics delivery process and driving change management so client organizations can make the most effective use of AP deliverables.

Sable Mi - Senior Director, Research Strategic Planning, BrightRoll

Sable Mi is the Senior Director of Research and Strategic Planning at BrightRoll. She leads the company's efforts in new research product development and testing, custom research for strategic accounts, and cross-platform measurement to demonstrate the effectiveness of digital video advertising, with deep knowledge culled from working at both full service agencies and the leading ad tech company.

Lauren Moores, Ph.D. - VP Analytics, Dstillery

Lauren Moores, VP of Analytics at Dstillery, has more than 20 years experience in data strategy, science, and creation in different information and technology industries. She runs all things analytics at Dstillery after having led the vision and development of data science at EverScreen Media (ESM). Prior to ESM, Lauren managed the science, data assets and data product teams at Compete/Millward Brown Digital. Lauren holds a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.

Jenni Romaniuk - Research Professor, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute; Executive Editor, International, Journal of Advertising Research

Jenni Romaniuk is the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s International Director, responsible for developing the Institute’s global sponsor base. Her specialist research areas are Brand equity metrics and tracking, Advertising effectiveness, Word-of-mouth, Distinctive assets and Brand growth. Jenni is also the Executive Editor (International) of the Journal of Advertising Research.

Jerome Shimizu - Chief Research Officer, Millward Brown Digital

Jerome Shimizu is Chief Research Officer at Millward Brown Digital. In this capacity, he is responsible for helping to define the company's unique market strategy and developing innovative data driven research solutions. Previously, Jerome was CR at InsightExpress. Prior to this, he worked at Nielsen for 11 years.

Jasper Snyder- EVP, Research & Innovation; Cross Platform & Media, The ARF

Jasper Snyder is the Executive Vice President of Research and Innovation at The ARF. His focus is on cross-platform media consumption and measurement. Jasper has 12 years of experience leading quantitaive and qualitative research analytics projects across the consumer and B2B sectors. Before joining The ARF, Jasper worked in Ipsos' Strategy Partner Group, providing guidance to major clients on all aspects of corporate and brand strategy.

Eric Solomon- SVP, Global Digital Audience Measurement, Nielsen

Eric Solomon, SVP, Global Digital Audience Measurement, at Nielsen, is a seasoned leader in digital and media product development with 20 years’ experience working with global media brands. In this role, Eric has global responsibility for Nielsen’s products measuring the content and advertising audience reach across for TV, digital and mobile platforms, including strategy and product development worldwide. Prior to joining Nielsen in 2009, Eric was with A&E Television Networks. He holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University, Columbia Business School, and a B.S. in economics and strategic management from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Horst Stipp, Ph.D. - EVP, Research & Innovation: Global & Ad Effectiveness, The ARF

Horst Stipp is the Executive Vice President of Research and Innovation: Global and Ad Effectiveness, The ARF. In this role, he focuses on the needs of global members, as well as ARF's global strategy. He joined The ARF as EVP of global business strategy in 2011. Prior to The ARF, Horst was SVP of strategic insightsand innovation in the research department of NBCUniversal, where he oversaw strategic marketing and consumer research for NBCU's TV networks as awell as new digital platforms.