External Advisory Board

The external advisory board is a highly involved group of senior level executives who serve as the voice of industry to guide development of program curriculum and networking for job opportunities. The board is lead by an executive committee which is elected by the board. Over 30 board members come to campus twice a year to meet with faculty and students. They also sponsor workshops, guest lecturing in classes, and offer site-visits to their companies. Each student is assigned two mentors within the External Advisory Board to assist in their career development.

The A.C. Nielsen Center’s Executive Committee was established with the creation of the Center in 1990. The first chair of the Executive Committee was Bob Drane. Bob Drane has been an active member of the board and engaged mentor to A.C. Nielsen Center students for over 20 years. Executive Committee members are nominated and elected by their fellow board members each spring and at each fall board meeting, the torch is passed to the new Committee Chair. This fall, Scott Bishop became the Executive Committee Chair and Merrill Dubrow, who was elected to the committee in March, attended his first Executive Committee Meeting.

External Advisory Board
Executive Committee
Previous Exec. Committee Chairs

External Advisory Board

Bill BeanColgate-Palmolive
Scott BishopAmazon
Steven M. CooleyBlue Cross/Blue Sheild of Illinios
John CopelandMcKinsey & Company
Dennis DegeneffeFriend of the Center
Ann DenckerFriend of the Center
Louis DiasJohnson & Johnson Vision Care
Ed DobblesH&R Block
Jeff DrakeFriend of the Center
Bob DraneFriend of the Center
Merrill DubrowM/A/R/C Research
Larry FisherFriend of the Center
Jim GrecoThe Nielsen Company
Lisa GuddingGfK Custom Research
David GuenthnerWal-mart Stores, Inc.
Anshu GuptaEli Lilly and Company
Sheryl HarkinsThe Nielsen Company
Scott HughesMillerCoors
Chuck HwangThe Procter & Gamble Company
Randall JanischFord Motor Company
Barry JenningsDell
Jim LaneDirections Research, Inc.
Jay LuttrellFriend of the Center
Elaine MadanskyThe Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
Ed MartinThe Hershey Company
Paul MetzC&R Research Services, Inc.
Chuck MillerDMS Insights
Donna NealFriend of the Center
Jim NorgrenJohnson & Johnson - McNeil Consumer
Karin PetersonKimberly-Clark Corporation
Vidyotham ReddiGeneral Mills
Brian RichardMeadWestVaco
Heiko SchaferHenkel
Tanya SchooleyKraft Foods, Inc.
Diane SuretteBurke, Inc.
Stacey SymondsOrbitz Worldwide
Ron WeidemannAnswers Research

Executive Committee

Scott BishopAmazon
Ed DobblesH&R Block
Merrill DubrowM/A/R/C Research
Diane SuretteBurke, Inc.

Previous Exec. Committee Chairs

Michael Baker1992-1993
Ron Conlin2003-2004
Dennis Degeneffe2001-2002
Ann Dencker2005-2006
Ed Dobbles2010-2011
Jeff Drake1997-1998
Bob Drane1990-1991
Larry Fisher1998-1999
Gayle Fuguitt1993-1994
Jami Guthrie2006-2007
Kitty Knecht1995-1996
Paul Kravitz1991-1992
Jay Luttrell2009-2010
Chuck Miller2007-2008
Jeff Miller2004-2005
Sharon Munger1999-2000
Donna Neal2000-2001
Jeff Pope1996-1997
Diane Richards2008-2009
Larry Stanek1994-1995
Mike Troutman2002-2003