Marketing

CHET ZALESKY

Position: President
Education: MS, Marketing Research, University of South Carolina; BS, Business Administration, Villanova University (Pennsylvania)
Background and Interests: Involved in marketing and research since 1982, Chet Zalesky, founder of CMI, has an in-depth understanding of issues that are critical to an organization achieving sustainable growth. His mission in establishing CMI was to create a truly consultative company committed to developing holistic information solutions. His focus is on helping companies align customer needs with business initiatives that drive profitability. Chet is a frequent speaker to business and academic groups, and an active American Marketing Association (AMA) member. He currently serves as the 2008 Chair of the Board of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO). Chet also serves on CMI’s Steering Committee.

ELLEN MOWBRAY

Position: Vice President - Marketing
Education: MS, Planning and Evaluation, American University (Washington, D.C.); AB, Double major – English and Sociology, Douglass College, Rutgers University (New Jersey)
Background and Interests: Involved in designing and executing research since 1982, Ellen’s experience is concentrated in service industries such as telecommunications, hospitality, food service, financial services, and utilities. Areas of special interest include questionnaire design and presentation and packaging of information. Prior to joining CMI, Ellen worked at several research companies, including Westat and Elrick & Lavidge. Ellen serves on CMI’s Steering Committee and oversees the marketing and sales group.

MIKE GRAY

Position: Senior Vice President - Sales
Education: Masters studies, Marketing and Organizational Psychology, University of Iowa; BS, Organizational Psychology and BA, Business Administration, Mount Mercy College (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Background and Interests: Mike Gray has over 24 years of marketing and marketing research experience. His well-rounded background includes a unique combination of client side, ad agency, database marketing and market research client development experience. His focus has been in the areas of consumer and B2B concept testing and trackers as well as customer/employee satisfaction and customer value analysis, new product and service development, and branding research.

Prior to CMI, Mike has held senior positions in client development with MarketTools Inc., ComScore and Research Now Plc. London, UK. Mike is an active member in the MRA and AMA is PRC certified at the expert level.

ANGELA WELLS

Position: Senior Marketing Consultant
Education: MBA, University of Michigan; BA, Economics, Northwestern University
Background and Interests: Angela has more than 10 years of experience in a variety of relevant marketing disciplines, including strategic planning and analysis, new product launches, customer segmentation and targeting, competitive analysis, and research. Angela has a proven track record of turning research findings into improved marketing strategies and actionable tactics to grow top-line revenue, drive product improvements, and maximize the return from marketing investments. She has managed marketing programs across multiple industries, including telecommunications, financial services, insurance, consumer packaged goods, and professional services. Prior to joining CMI, Angela led EarthLink’s Insights and Innovation team, including responsibility for the marketing strategy for all new core products. Additionally, Angela has held marketing positions with Frito-Lay, Citigroup, and Zyman Group, an Atlanta-based strategic marketing consulting firm.

Operations and Project Management

LAURA CARAWAY

Position: Vice President - Operations
Education: MBA, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; BS, Business Administration, Boston College
Background and Interests: Since 1986, Laura's marketing research experience has encompassed a wide range of industries, including financial services, food service, hotel and travel, telecommunications, healthcare, television, and utilities. Laura currently oversees the operations at CMI, helping to ensure that all client needs are met and that each project is conducted to the highest standards. Laura also serves on CMI's Steering Committee, playing an integral role in determining the direction of the company. Prior to joining CMI, Laura held research positions at SDR Consulting and Glaxo, Inc.

SHERRI KINDLMANN

Position: Group Head – Project Management
Education: MA, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Minnesota State University, Mankato; BS, Psychology and Management, Excelsior College
Background and Interests: Sherri and her group are responsible for superior project implementation and primary client contact along with questionnaire design, sample planning, and results analysis, interpretation and presentation. Sherri brings over twelve years of market research experience in consumer package goods, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, retail, utilities, and financial and health services to CMI. Prior to joining CMI, Sherri held positions at ClickIQ, Inc., NFO Worldgroup, Inc., and Kenexa (formerly Gantz Wiley Research). Prior to her career in market research Sherri served in the US Navy and was part of the team that rolled out the Navy's TQM initiative, training and working with process improvement teams.

Marketing Sciences

Q. CHRISTINA LIAO

Position: Group Head - Marketing Science
Education: MS & Ph.D., Research, Measurement, and Statistics, Georgia State University
Background and Interests: Christina has been designing and implementing research studies since 1995. She has extensive experience in survey design, data quality control, statistical modeling, and analytic techniques. Christina's strengths are consulting with clients on the appropriate use of statistical models and techniques, handling missing data in statistical analysis, and translating statistical results into actionable marketing insights. Specifically, Christina has expertise in the use of a wide variety of statistical multilevel modeling and longitudinal analysis. As the group head of marketing science at CMI, Christina oversees the analytical service offerings, from sample to survey data to analytic strategies and output. Christina serves as a Faculty member at the UGA Advanced School of Marketing Research.

Account Management

JANET ZIFFER

Position: Vice President – Client Services
Education: MS, Marketing, Georgia State University; BBA, Marketing, University of Delaware
Background and Interests: Janet has worked in the marketing research field since 1989, specializing in the food service industry, healthcare, key account research, and business-to-business environments. Janet’s marketing research background encompasses both qualitative and quantitative research. Janet oversees the Account Management group at CMI, helping to ensure that each client benefits from CMI’s collective experience and that the best interests of the client are always served. Before joining CMI, Janet held positions at Elrick & Lavidge and SDR.

MICHAEL MABEY

Position: Account Manager
Education: MBA, Goizueta Business School, Emory University (Georgia); B. Commerce, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada)
Background and Interests: Mike has more than 30 years of marketing and marketing research experience, including over seven years involving electric and gas utilities. He is a seasoned problem-solver with extensive project and account management experience along with analytical expertise. He has been involved in a wide range of research, from conducting brainstorming sessions to large, multi-dimensional segmentation studies. He has authored and co-authored more than a dozen articles published in energy-related and legal management trade publications, as well as speaking at a number of national conferences.

ELAINE GOLDING

Position: Account Manager
Education: MBA, Georgia State University (Atlanta, Georgia); BS Business Administration, Auburn University (Auburn, Alabama)
Background and Interests: Elaine has over 20 years of marketing management, marketing research and business analysis experience, all of it dedicated to Fortune 500 level competitive intelligence, business planning, problem solving, and market forecasting. Her particular focus has been in the business-to-business environment. Elaine offers CMI’s clients strong analytical skills and the ability to identify key trends & opportunities through marketing research. She has designed numerous quantitative and qualitative research studies, with emphasis on conducting customer satisfaction studies, new product research and competitive benchmarking studies. Prior to joining CMI, Elaine held various marketing positions with Kawneer, a division of Alcoa.

JANET PATTERSON
Position: Account Manager
Education: Ph.D. studies (ABD) in Communication, Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio); M.A. in Communication, Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio); B.Ed. Speech/English, University of Toledo (Toledo, Ohio)
Background and Interests: Janet brings 25 years of research experience, both supplier and client side, to CMI. The first phase of her career centered on media, particularly radio and television audience research, as a consultant and in-house researcher. She left the media world in 2001 to become a qualitative research manager at Millward Brown, where her clients represented a wide range of industries, including CPG, food and beverage, shipping, financial services, health and personal care, apparel, and greeting cards. Janet more recently headed all consumer and commercial research for Invista (formerly DuPont) fibers (Stainmaster® and Antron®). She comes to CMI from BellSouth, where she conducted a wide range of consumer and B2B studies around marketing, new product development, and broadband.

Qualitative

HANNAH BAKER HITZHUSEN
Position: Account Manager - Qualitative Research
Education: BA, Rice University (Texas)
Background and Interests: Hannah brings CMI clients more than 15 years of market research and marketing experience on the supplier and client sides. A RIVA-trained qualitative researcher, Hannah has conducted hundreds of focus groups and in-depth interviews. While working with clients across a wide range of industries, her areas of specialization include pharmaceutical and healthcare (physicians, other decision-makers, and patients) and health policy. Hannah is adept at facilitating sessions among diverse audiences, from high-level business decision-makers to consumers of packaged goods. In addition to traditional qualitative methods, Hannah is a trained facilitator.

LAURA JOHNSON

Position: Qualitative Researcher
Education: BA, Cultural Anthropology, Duke University (North Carolina)
Background and Interests: Laura brings a multi-disciplinary approach to business questions and has a solid background in research across industries and business environments. Combining an anthropological perspective, RIVA training, and years of business-to-business experience (including international), she has addressed a broad range of business and research issues, including knowledge management, usability/information architecture, change management and business process improvement. She has worked in a number of industries including financial services, high tech/new media, communications, and education. Her experience includes not only traditional qualitative research, but also ethnographic fieldwork. Prior to joining CMI, Laura worked with companies such as Deloitte Consulting and iXL.

ELLEN CABACUNGAN

Position: Qualitative Researcher
Education: BA, Advertising, University of Oklahoma
Background and Interests: Ellen brings a highly strategic and creative perspective to market research from her background in advertising and brand consulting. She has addressed a breadth of operations, product, service, and communications issues, all within the context of clients' business realities and goals. She has studied consumer, B-to-B, and internal audiences across diverse industries, including automotive, consumer electronics, packaged goods, financial services, entertainment, and fashion. A RIVA-certified moderator, she blends sound qualitative skills with elicitation and reporting techniques borrowed from other disciplines, such as archetyping, quasi-ethnography, storytelling, cultural immersion, and ideation exercises. Prior to joining CMI, Ellen was a brand consultant at Fallon in Minneapolis and an account planner at McKinney in Durham, NC, where she and her team won an Effie Award for a financial services campaign.

BRONWEN CLARK

Position: Qualitative Researcher
Education: MA, Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Georgia; BA, Political Science and International Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Background and Interests: Bronwen brings a wealth of experience, especially on the healthcare and health policy front, having conducted research for clients including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare. Bronwen, a RIVA-trained moderator, has experience working with a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to local non-profits, engaging key stakeholders at all levels. Prior to joining CMI, she worked at the Washington, D.C. office of KRC Research, the research division of Weber Shandwick. Bronwen also worked at Lake Snell Perry & Associates, a national public opinion and political consulting firm.