The Talented Team That Drives the ARF
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Scott McDonald, Ph.D.
CEO & President
ARF
Scott McDonald became the CEO and President of the Advertising Research Foundation in March 2017. Prior to joining the ARF, he held senior research positions at leading global media companies, including 18 years at Time Warner, and 14 years at Conde Nast, covering both the consumer and the advertising sides of the media business. Throughout his career, he has kept a foot in both the academic and business worlds, teaching for 5 years at NYU and for 18 years at Columbia Business School. He serves as an adviser to the Social Science Matrix Program at UC Berkeley, and is on the Board of the Population Reference Bureau. An avid art lover, he also is on the board of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He holds an A.B. degree from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. CEO & President Member Newsletters
Paul Donato
Chief Research Officer
ARF
Paul Donato joined the ARF as Chief Research Officer in October 2017. Paul is a highly-regarded leader in media and advertising research with more than two decades of industry experience. Earlier in his career he co-founded WPP’s Media Research Business Unit, served as CEO of Kantar Media, and Technical Director of IBOPE Latin America. He was the EVP and CRO for The Nielsen Company for more than a decade, overseeing Nielsen retail, consumer, mobile, and media measurement methodologies. Upon leaving Nielsen, Paul founded Jatopond, a media and market research firm. He also has led business units at Simmons, and at Audits and Surveys Worldwide. He currently sits on the Future State Committee of the National Air and Space Museum. In addition to leading the research team, Paul will also play an active role in overall ARF leadership, helping to guide our future direction.
Rachael Feigenbaum
SVP, Events
ARF
Rachael is the SVP, Events at the ARF where she leads a team responsible for all program content and attendee experiences. This includes conceptualizing and executing programs, building judging committees and activating board involvement in events. Rachael also spearheads the ARF Women in Analytics Group, a series of events and community-building initiatives, throughout the country.
Barbara Kahn is Baker Professor of Marketing at Wharton at UPenn. She was Dean at University of Miami’s School of Business and is Executive Director of Marketing Science Institute. She has a PhD and MBA from Columbia University.
Michael Heitner
Chief Growth Officer
ARF
Michael Heitner joined the Advertising Research Foundation in 2011 and is the ARF’s Chief Growth Officer responsible for Membership, Sponsorship and New Member Development. Key to achieving our growth and revenue goals is delivering strong member value. Michael is integrally involved in working with the ARF Board and Executive Team to grow and build the organization. Prior to the ARF, he spent most of his career on the advertising agency side of the business. Most notably, Michael founded and ran his own agency, Heitner Weiss, for 14 years. When not working, Michael is an avid tennis player and photographer.
Marketing Science Institute Leadership Team
Barbara Kahn
Executive Director
MSI
Barbara Kahn is Baker Professor of Marketing at Wharton at UPenn. She was Dean at University of Miami’s School of Business and is Executive Director of Marketing Science Institute. She has a PhD and MBA from Columbia University.
Barbara Kahn is Baker Professor of Marketing at Wharton at UPenn. She was Dean at University of Miami’s School of Business and is Executive Director of Marketing Science Institute. She has a PhD and MBA from Columbia University.
Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement Executive Leadership Team
Jane Clarke
CEO, Managing Director
CIMM
As the CEO and Managing Director of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), Jane is responsible for developing CIMM’s strategy and vision and overseeing all day-to-day operations. CIMM is an R&D coalition of companies in the TV/premium video ecosystem. It was formed to spur innovation and collaboration in cross-platform media measurement and bringing more granular measurement to TV. CIMM has launched game-changing proof-of-concept Pilot Tests for cross-media measurement technology with innovative vendors, and created breakthrough whitepapers on return path data, data enrichment, cross-device and cross-channel identity measurement, and advances in cross-channel and TV attribution measurement.
Current CIMM initiatives range from a study to unpack data inputs into TV Attribution, as well as a Whitepaper on Best Practices in Combining Smart TV and STB Data. Additionally, we are working on designs for TV Data interoperability and ID resolution, as well as creating standardized formats for Ad Names (using Ad-ID), metadata and file formats.
Jane has more than 40 years’ experience in the media industry collecting and analyzing strategic insights into global consumers for Time Warner, Children’s TV Workshop and National Geographic. Most recently, she was Vice President of Insights and Innovation at Time Warner Global Media Group where her work fueled marketing solutions across television, online, mobile and print. She is on the Board of the Advertising Research Foundation and I-COM Global, and has received numerous industry awards.