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 Feigenbaum joined the ARF in 2010 and is the Senior Vice President of Events. She is responsible for program content and attendee experiences. This includes conceptualizing and executing in-person and virtual programming, building and managing judging committees and activating board involvement in events. She also spearheads the ARF Women in Analytics Group, which hosts events and community-building initiatives throughout the year. Prior to the ARF, Rachael led a portfolio of events at the DMA and before that at Forbes Conferences. She holds a B.A. in English and Russian Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an M.A. in International Relations 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.
Elyssa Rubin
Chief Financial Officer
ARF
Elyssa Rubin has served as ARF’s Chief Financial Officer since August 2021, drawing on an ample resume of media and advertising finance experience. She was previously the CFO of an out-of-home media agency and a full-service advertising agency. Elyssa was also formerly a General Manager at the Hearst Corporation, where she actively developed and executed advertising programs and was instrumental in launching digital applications, which extended offerings to advertisers and provided ample growth opportunities for both her brand and the larger Hearst Corporation. Prior to her role at Hearst, Elyssa worked on multiple brands at K-III Communications. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Nikole TenBrink, MPA, CAE
Vice President, Marketing
ARF
Nikole joined the ARF as Vice President of Marketing in January 2023. Nikole is a Certified Association Executive with extensive experience in developing and executing marketing, communications, and member engagement strategies. Her nonprofit work has given her a profound appreciation of an organization’s value proposition, and she works tirelessly with her stakeholders to ensure that value is delivered across all programs and audience segments. Prior to joining the ARF, Nikole held leadership positions in marketing and membership for the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the Risk Management Society (RIMS). She is also a founding member of the PAR (Professionals for Association Revenue) Leadership Advisory Board. A true Florida native, Nikole has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University.
Marketing Science Institute Leadership Team
Tulin Erdem, Ph.D.
New York University
Leonard N. Stern Professor of Business and Professor of Marketing
Executive Director
MSI
Dr. Erdem is the Leonard N. Stern Professor of Business and Professor of Marketing at the Stern School of Business at New York University. She joined the Stern School faculty in 2006, and has served as chair of the marketing department at Stern between 2017 and 2023. After receiving her PhD in marketing from University of Alberta, she began her career at the University of California-Berkeley, rising through the ranks from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure to becoming the E.T. Grether Professor of Business at the Haas School of Business.
She has also served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Marketing Research from 2009 to 2012, as well as associate editor at Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Research, and Quantitative Marketing and Economics. Additionally, she has served as the president of INFORMS Marketing Society (ISMS), and is an ISMS Fellow and MSI Academic Fellow. She has received best paper awards, as well major research grants, including two major National Science Foundation grants. Her most recent work studies consumer attention and search using eye tracking measures to predict and understand brand choice using formal models.
Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement Executive Leadership Team
Jon Watts
Managing Director
CIMM