The Focal Point Newsletter: Fall 2018

By A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Analytics & Insights

December 20, 2018

 

Letter from the Director

by Kristin Branch
Kristin Branch

Between the end of fall semester and the end of the year it’s a good time to pause and reflect.  This newsletter covers so many of this semester’s highlights – the Summit, our field trip to Minneapolis and so many other student experiences. Thank you for taking a moment to learn more about what is happening here at UW and the A.C. Nielsen Center.  We hope this brings you back to your graduate study days and is fodder for your own pause and reflection.

You’ll read about our biennial Summit – one of our biggest and most important events.  We aim to entice as many alumni as we can to come back to campus for a day of learning and reconnecting.  We are incredibly lucky to the caliber of speakers donate their time, travel and expertise to help make our event so strong.  The Summit also marks the transition of our Alumni Reps on the External Advisory Board.  A big Thank You to Gail Casey & Giustina Parisi for their two year term and welcome to David Gailey & Malcolm Thorne as they start their term with this upcoming spring meeting.  The 2018 Summit was fantastic and thank you to all who attended, helped us plan, sponsored the event or even just read our social media about it.

We are excited to share that our own Assistant Director, Sarah Kervin, is about to welcome her first child into the world in early 2019.  We are all excited for her and Sarah will be missed during her maternity leave.  Sarah’s impact to our program is broad.  She recently started an Alumni, EAB and Faculty Spotlight series that we feature in our social media and this newsletter.  It is really fun to learn more about these individuals’ careers and interests.  If you are interested in being considered for an upcoming Spotlight, please let us know.

Lastly, as with the time of year, we hope you can consider giving back to UW and the A.C. Nielsen Center in your annual charitable giving.  Your gifts make a difference as they directly impact student scholarship and applied learning events.  Thank you for making a difference.

As I unplug and relax into the holiday season, my own pause and reflection will include how grateful I am to be a part of the A.C. Nielsen Center and our amazing community.  Thank you – it is an honor to serve as this Center’s director.

Best wishes to you and your loved ones in this holiday season and cheers to all that 2019 will bring.

All my best & happy holidays,

Check out the Semester in Photos 

Student Blogs

By Jessica Colberg

This fall, the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research brought together industry professionals, students, and alumni for a full day Summit on consumer insights and the role it plays in responding to disruption. This biennial conference of almost 200 attendees features a full schedule of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and the chance for students to connect with insights leaders from Google, P&G, Microsoft, Ipsos, and many others. Read the entire story »

 

By Kathryn Elenius

Telling a good story about data isn’t an easy process – it necessitates understanding both who you’re telling the story about and who you’re telling the story to.

Students in the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research had the opportunity to learn about both aspects from industry experts in Minneapolis – by visiting General Mills and United Health Group. Read the entire story »

 

By Kelsey Ketelsleger

I am what they call a ‘Double Badger.’ I did my undergrad at Wisconsin and loved it so much I thought I’d come back for more and pursue my MBA here! That being said, the idea of being a Badger for life is one that is near and dear to my heart. Three things stand out to me when I think about being a Badger for life:

1. SCHOOL SPIRIT

In my opinion, Badgers have some of the best school spirit around! Read the entire story »

 

By Ammad Amin

 

Alumni Spotlight: Giustina Parisi, Class of 2009

By Ammad Amin

Giustina’s journey towards becoming an insights professional started during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. Even though she wasn’t a business student she took a class in the business school where Teaching Assistant ‘Kaz’ Kazim Gunay (A.C. Nielsen Center Class of 2003), inspired her to learn more about the profession. She was able to develop an insights network as a student and secured a position at the Nielsen Company upon graduation. She spent her time at Nielsen working on the Oscar Meyer account where her team comprised of many alums of the program. Read the entire story »

 

Curricular & Student Updates

Last year we had the opportunity to implement new ideas for how we structure the full-time MBA curriculum. The idea worked well, and we’re pleased to share our module system has returned for the 2018-2019 year.

The module system is similar to the “quarter system” many schools and universities have used in the past, however with modules we are able to do be more flexible with several learning approaches.  The specialization courses continue to be offered at a full semester length allowing for depth and consistency. We have a new Leadership Symposium in its own week dividing the first and second core modules each semester which allows the students to focus on their leadership learning and reflection. The first seven weeks of MBA Care include Financial Accounting, Data to Decisions, and Leading and Working in Teams, while the final seven weeks include Marketing Management, Operations Management, and Introduction to Financial Management. The semester moves fast, as always but this mixed approach is delivering as intended.

The Spring semester of the first year holds a slight tweak. The first seven week include Strategic Management and Ethics, Integrity, and Society.  Economics for Managers is split between micro- and macro-economics into two five-week sessions. Some of our recent graduates will remember the Integrated Company Analysis (ICA) which was a major part of the fall semester – this has now been moved to the second half of the spring semester allowing students to incorporate all of their MBA care into the ICA analysis. The ICA project is now with a corporate partner so the MBA students address a current, real business challenge.  Last year we worked with Medtronic, who was so pleased with the recommendations and results that they decided to return with a new challenge for the Spring 2019 course.

We are always making efforts to keep curriculum as up to date as possible with the evolving industry demands placed on business. Those efforts extend beyond the core curriculum into the electives offered. Moving into the current academic year we have the pleasure of sharing with you great additions, which include both quantitative and qualitative learning opportunities. Two exciting courses added to the list include the Marketing Practicum and Machine Learning.

Student Leadership Updates:

Additionally, congratulations to those students who are now in leadership positions across the MBA.

  • Paras Bansal: Community Chair, GBA
  • Emily Litvak & Dani Klunk: Social Chairs, GBA
  • Bryson Smith: Communications Chair, GMN
  • Ty Vaughn: Vice President, GMN

We are very excited for all the great things happening to keep propelling the Wisconsin MBA program forward. On, Wisconsin!

 

Alumni Updates:

Alumni updates are a great way for us to stay connected to you and for you all to stay connected to one another. Here are a few alumni with things to share:

Niraj Amin, Class of 2018

    • Started a new job on October 1st as a Research Executive with The Research Partnership, Inc. in Horsham, PA. It is a marketing research agency that works with clients in the pharmaceutical and healthcare spaces.
    • Will be moving into an apartment in Center City, Philadelphia on December 8th… the building is a part of the Philadelphia skyline!

David Elster, Class of 2017 & Susannah Maiken, Class of 2018, Engagement

    • David and Susannah met at the University of Wisconsin MBA program in the Fall of 2017 when the two were paired together as Mentor and Mentee. After two years of being Business Badgers and falling in love, David was ready to propose with a little help from the A.C. Nielsen Center. Sarah reached out to Susannah to meet with a prospective MBA candidate: William L. Jackson. William reached out via e-mail to request a meeting at the Cliff Dweller’s Club on Michigan Ave overlooking Millennium Park from the 22nd floor. Upon arriving, Susannah was led outside to a breathtaking view of Millennium Park (and Lollapalooza). On the rooftop, she found David, wearing his best suit. David got down on one knee and Susannah said, “YES!”
    • The two now reside in Chicago where they work two cubicles away from each other at PepsiCo. They are planning a small ceremony at her family’s lake house on Washington Island, WI.

David Shepherd, Class of 2011:

    • On October 6th 2018, David B. Shepherd  and his wife Melissa welcomed Lydia Louise Shepherd to the A.C. Nielsen Center family! (pictures in the Semester in Photos Album)

 

Welcome New Alumni Representatives

We are happy to welcome two new Alumni Representatives to the A.C. Nielsen External Advisory Board: David Gailey, Class of 2016 and Malcolm Thorne, Class of 1997. They will be representing the Alumni at External Advisory Board meetings, planning the next A.C. Nielsen Summit and so much more from 2019-2021.

They will be overlapping with our two current Alumni Reps, Gail Casey & Giustina Parisi, for the spring semester.

Welcome David & Malcolm!

David Gailey, Class of 2016

David (c/o ’16) is an avid people-watcher and lover of research. He got his start doing qualitative work for TNS in Thailand, followed by more quantitative work at BrainJuicer (now System 1). He currently works for Qualtrics in Provo, Utah, consulting and managing relationships for several of their key enterprise customers. He and his wife, Mandy, have two children and a very demanding French Bulldog. He is beyond excited to serve as an alumni rep to pay forward the influence, generosity, and camaraderie that several alumni offered early in his career. He’s never known a better set of people than those who associate with the A.C. Nielsen Center.

 

Malcolm Thorne, Class of 1997

Malcolm is serial entrepreneur who made a transition to the fortune 1000. As  lead investor and/or CEO he has helped build and sell 3 software companies over the past 20 years.  Most recently he spend 7 years at CDK global managing a global team of 750 people covering marketing, strategy, product management and M&A, in addition to running a $150M EBITDA data and analytics business.  Malcolm has taught 6 courses in marketing & strategy at the University of Wisconsin and has also taught a life strategy courses to hundreds of aspiring leaders.  Today he splits his time between venture capital and private equity.  He is a venture partner in 4490, a Madison based software-focused early stage VC firm,  while also helping Global Private Equity firm Advent International invest their money in Automotive technology.  Malcolm is an avid tennis player, downhill skier, audiophile, car enthusiast, golfer and world traveler with a deep passion for data and analytics. Malcolm has a deep passion for mentoring future leaders and looks forward to being an alumni rep to help drive the program and students forward.

 

Engagement & Giving

Please consider the A.C. Nielsen Center and the Wisconsin School of Business in your giving expenditures. Our A.C. Nielsen Center Endowment covers approximately 40% of our operating budget so your gift will immediately impact all the Center does and our primary focus– student scholarships. We’d also be honored to have you include the Wisconsin School of Business Fund if you’re looking for a gift that is not Center-specific. Both the A.C. Nielsen Center fund and the Wisconsin School of Business Fund can accept single gifts, monthly, or multi-year pledges via easy processing.

If you do not already have a contact at the University of Wisconsin Foundation and would like someone to answer your questions and/or help you with your planning, please contact Jerad Meyer at jerad.meyer@supportuw.org.

 

Stay Connected

Just as you are proud to be a Business Badger, we are proud to have you as part of our team and want to showcase your news and accomplishments. Please keep us in the loop as you hit major milestones in your career and personal life. Suggested content includes: promotions, new employment, engagements, births, etc.

If you have any news that you’d like to share with us, please send it to Christine Harrington at christine.harrington@wisc.edu.

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