The 2010 DTC National Speakers (Listed in Alpha Order by Last Name)

Richard Baron, Executive Director, Customer Development Marketing, Boehringer Ingelheim
Rich started his Pharmaceutical career with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in 1994 as a Professional Sales Representative in California before moving back to the US headquarters in Connecticut to take a position within Sales Training and Development. He joined the Marketing Department in 2001 as a Product Manager, working on Mobic.  Later in 2001, he was promoted to Product Director and moved into the therapeutic area of cardiovascular as the US brand lead for Micardis and Catapres TTS.  In 2007, Rich moved over to the therapeutic area of Urology to take the lead as Executive Director, Marketing for Flomax. In 2009, In addition to leading Flomax, Rich took on a new role as Executive Director of Customer Development Marketing, which is a cross brand division that oversees Consumer Marketing for all brands, supports Healthcare Professional (HCP) Development and creation of an eBusiness channel for Boehringer.

Since taking over Flomax, Rich and the team have recreated the TV creative to optimize consumer response and reshaped the media plan to capitalize on the optimal mix and timing for Flomax, raising consumer awareness of the brand to levels as high as 93% and making it a household name and the focus of many Jay Leno Tonight Show Monologues (as well as other comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Mohr and inclusion in movies such as "It's Complicated" with Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep).   In addition, in the 2008/2009 period, Flomax was identified as the #1 and #2 most recalled pharma advertisement by AC Nielson.  In addition to the general market focus, Rich and the team expanded their market focus and initiated the first Hispanic TV spot for Boehringer with its Flomax "Appreciate" Television ad that launched in September 2008, amongst this huge, and growing, untapped consumer population.  With a targeted campaign, including increased media, the team was able to increase awareness amongst this segment by 300%.

Rich has a BA in Liberal Arts from Penn State University and a MA in Organizational Psychology from Antioch University in California.

Andrew Bast, SVP and General Manager, Purple @ Epsilon
Andrew leads Purple@Epsilon's healthcare practice.  He actively partners with clients to help develop their go-to-market strategies, including managing the design, integration, and implementation of Purple@Epsilon's relationship marketing activities.

Andrew's extensive category expertise spans the GI, CV, CNS, HIV, respiratory, and metabolic therapeutic areas.  Prior to joining Purple@Epsilon, Andrew worked at Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare Communications and its sibling agency Glow Worm on blockbuster brands such as Nexium, Prilosec, Seroquel, Enbrel, and Amitiza.

Before to joining agency life, Andrew advised clients at a major outsourcing firm, where he implemented several technology-intensive solutions, such as a national student loan centralization effort and a prescription drug co-payment initiative for the Ontario Ministry of Health.

Mike Bloxham – Director, Insight and Research, Center for Media Design at Ball State University

Mike Bloxham has worked in media research and consulting for nineteen years, advising multi-national corporations, media owners and government agencies on strategic marketing and communications issues on an international basis. His clients have included Microsoft, Cablevision, BSkyB, Le Monde, Procter & Gamble, MTVEurope and the British Government.

Mike has extensive attitudinal and behavioural research experience, and has worked on key projects in media consumption, iTV, interactive marketing and advertising, user segmentation, usability and media lifestyle profiling.

He has been a featured speaker at marketing, new media and research conferences internationally. He also writes regularly for Media magazine and MediaPost's "TV Board".

Mike became Director, Insight & Research at Ball State University's Center for Media Design – a consumer and content-oriented Digital Media R&D facility – in 2003. He is part of the team that developed the observational research method behind the ground-breaking Middletown Media Studies and other similar projects, is a leader of the Nielsen Council for Research Excelellence Video Consumer Mapping Study and is a co-founder (with Jim Spaeth and Bill Moult of Sequent Partners) of The Media Behavior Institute, which focuses on the challenges of cross-media research.  Mike and is also active in advanced usability research including situational eye-tracking research, biometrics (isn't everyone these days?) and work into the increasingly important role of digital media in the provision of health and wellness-related services and information.

He also thinks Kung Fu Panda is a better movie the Wall-e, even though the latter is well worth the money.  

Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution & Co-Founder, America Online & Chairman, The Case Foundation
Steve Case launched Revolution, a company that seeks to drive transformative change by shifting power to consumers, in April of 2005. Revolution's mission is to partner with entrepreneurs in building businesses that give people more choice, control and convenience in important areas of their lives.  Revolution's current activities are focused on companies in the health, financial, resort and wellness sectors. 

Prior to starting Revolution, Steve was the Chair and CEO of America Online, Inc., and later, the Chairman of AOL Time Warner.  As the co-Founder of AOL, Steve played an integral role in building the world's largest Internet company and helped transform how people communicate, learn and conduct business.  AOL brought millions of Americans their first connection to the Internet and drove worldwide adoption of a medium that has become more valuable than the telephone or television.  Steve also ensured that AOL led the industry on issues like making the Internet a safe place for children, bridging the "digital divide," and investing in online philanthropy. 

Steve is currently Chairman of two non-profit organizations, the Case Foundation, a private family foundation he established in 1997 with his wife Jean and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), an entrepreneurial approach to funding brain cancer research that he founded in 2001 with his late brother Dan.  In addition, Steve was a founding organizer of Business Strengthening America and has served as vice chair of the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy.  He was also honored with the National Mentoring Partnership Leadership Award.

Steve was born and raised in Hawaii, where he remains a leading advocate for combining respect for the islands' native culture and environment with job creation and economic growth.  He is a major investor in two Hawaii businesses -- Grove Farm of Kauai and Maui Land & Pineapple -- that are developing fresh operating models for the agriculture industry and sustainable communities for residents and visitors. 
   
Steve has resided in the Washington, DC area for the past two decades.   Revolution's headquarters are in downtown Washington.

Jim Davidson, Chair, Public Policy Group, Polsinelli Shughart PC
For two decades, Jim Davidson has helped companies and business associations define and achieve their goals in the legislative and regulatory arenas of the federal government. He is founder of Davidson & Company, a public policy advisory firm,which is a subsidiary of Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus.

Davidson & Company has helped its clients address a broad range of public policy areas including advertising regulation and commercial speech, appropriations, taxation, healthcare, telecommunications and the Internet. Through his work on behalf of The Advertising Coalition, Mr. Davidson has become widely known as an expert on advertising regulation and specifically on prescription drug advertising. He also was asked by leaders in the advertising and food manufacturing industries to help make Congress and the American public more aware of industry initiatives to introduce new products and promote healthy lifestyles. He writes the "Eye on Washington" column on prescription drug advertising for DTC Perspectives Magazine, and a column on federal government issues for Electronic Retailer Magazine.

Mr. Davidson served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure. In that capacity, he directed the drafting of omnibus regulatory reform legislation and the Regulatory Flexibility Act. He also was Chief Counsel of the Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations where he was a principal staff author of the federal Privacy Act and major amendments to the Freedom of Information Act.

While serving on the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, Mr. Davidson was
singled out for recognition in the book Unelected Representatives: Congressional Staff and the Future of Representative Government. Prior to that, he served as Special Assistant and Press Secretary to Missouri Senator Stuart Symington, and as Administrative Assistant to Missouri Secretary of State James C. Kirkpatrick.

Mr. Davidson is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia Schools of Journalism and Law, and served as an adjunct Professor of Law at the Washington College of Law at American University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Missouri Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He was a Fellow of the American Council on Germany, and was a Conferee at the Chief Justice Earl Warren Conferenceon Advocacy. 

Governor Howard Dean

″ Chairman, Democratic National Committee, 2005-2009

″ Architect of the ''50-State Strategy''

″ 2004 Candidate for the Democratic Nomination for President

″ Founder, Democracy for America

″ Governor of Vermont, 1991-2003

As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Governor, Howard Dean made the Democratic Party competitive in every race, in every district, in every state and territory, while integrating national and state party operations and standing up for Democrats' core values. Governor Dean was the architect of a "50-State Strategy," investing money and staff in every state − including those where Democrats had long fared poorly − to build party infrastructure and lay the groundwork for electoral gains. The Obama campaign, working with DNC organizers in all 50 states, won several states that had not elected a Democratic president in decades, including Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana.

After achieving national prominence in his bid for the Democratic nomination for president, Governor Dean founded Democracy for America in 2004 to build on the groundswell of support and the wave of new energy sweeping the Party. And since that time, Democracy for America has been working with the grassroots to elect fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates to all levels of government − local, state, and federal − all over the country.

The breadth of Governor Dean's political experience has given him a unique perspective. He began his political career in the early 1980's as the Chittenden County (Vermont) Democratic Party chair. In 1983, Dean was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He was then elected lieutenant governor in 1986 and was re-elected in 1988 and 1990. He became Vermont's governor upon the death of Governor Richard A. Snelling on August 14, 1991.

Elected to a full term in November 1992, Governor Dean was re-elected four more times and created a record based on fiscally conservative principles that promoted equality and opportunity for all the citizens of Vermont. Under his leadership, Vermont paid down its debt and by 2001 enjoyed a $100 million surplus.

Through his innovative health care plan, 96 percent of Vermont's children now have health care coverage and more than a third of Vermont's Medicare recipients receive state help in paying for their prescription drugs. His 'Success by Six' program ensures that more resources like day-care and home nurses are available to parents if they need them. And with strong support from

Governor Dean, Vermont officials instituted an Interactive Learning Network that wired almost all the state's high schools, even in the most rural areas.

Governor Dean's successes prompted Governing magazine to proclaim him "Public Official of the Year" in 2002.

Dean's leadership roles also include turns as chairman of the National Governors' Association, the Democratic Governors' Association, and the New England Governors' Conference.

Before entering politics, Dean received a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978. Upon completing his residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, he went on to practice internal medicine in Shelburne, Vermont.

He is married to Dr. Judy Steinberg and they have two children, Anne and Paul.

Bill Drummy, Chairman & CEO, Heartbeat Digital
Bill Drummy is one of the leading authorities on digital strategy in the United States. He's consulted at the highest levels for industry leaders such as GSK, Lilly, Abbott, Forest and Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camps (for children with serious illnesses.)

Bill is a frequent and highly-rated speaker at major industry conferences, and is regularly published in Pharmaceutical Executive, DTC Perspectives and other leading publications.  He's widely regarded as an expert in interactive marketing, HCP communications, and Direct-to-Consumer internet marketing.

Prior to founding Heartbeat Digital in 1998, Bill's career in digital development began in 1990 (before anyone outside the academic community had heard of the Worldwide Web).  He designed some of the earliest pharma websites ever developed, and has won dozens of industry awards throughout his twenty-year career. 

Mr. Drummy is a magna cum laude graduate of Rutgers College, and he was winner of the Henry Rutgers Scholarship at Glasgow University, in Scotland, where he studied Medieval History, English literature, and single-malt beverages.

Tim Gamble, Global Market Analytics Pfizer, Inc.
Tim, a biochemist by trade, has thirteen years client-side analytics experience.  Working for Pfizer UK, Tim quickly progressed to Business Intelligence Manager covering diverse disease areas such as pain, depression, epilepsy, HIV, anti-infectives, anti-fungal, oncology, men and women's health.  In 2007, Tim flew over the pond to begin work in Market Analytics for Pfizer US. During this time he has covered consumer, professional and Managed Care analytics. 

Erik Hauser, VP, Executive Creative Director, EURO RSCG and Founder of the Experiential Marketing ForumIn 2009 Erik Hauser joined EURO RSCG (www.eurorscg.com) as VP, Executive Creative Director. Prior to that Erik founded The Experiential Marketing Forum (www.experientialforum.com) in 2004 which has grown to more than 7,000 members internationally and is translated into 11 languages.  Erik also founded Swivel Media in early 2000 with a goal to transform the way people experience brands - and he did.

Erik's expertise incorporates innovative business strategies and is known for his unique work developing groundbreaking marketing programs in both real and virtual worlds. As executive creative director, Hauser has overseen the development and deployment of uniquely engaging and effective programs for a host of prestigious clients, including Wells Fargo, EPSON, Careerbuilder.com, Oracle, Chevron/Texaco, kajeet, TiVo, CNET, YAHOO, Mervyn's, Samsung, Stanford University and AT&T Broadband.  Additional information and a highlight video of one of Erik's presentations at Stanford University can be found at www.experientialforum.com.

Susan Isenberg, Managing Director, US Health, Edelman
Susan Isenberg is the managing director of the US health practice at Edelman, the world's largest independent public relations and public engagement firm and leader in health communications.  Susan provides communications counsel to an array of Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies and other companies involved in health or health-issues.  In the US, nearly 200 Edelman professionals are focused on health public relations.  Susan has led major initiatives in marketing communications, issues management, reputation management, and alliance development.  Susan's work has been recognized by several industry awards.  Susan is a frequent author and presenter on health marketing communications and was an executive board member of PhAME, an award ceremony focusing on DTC marketing and communications. 

Amie O'Donoghue, Research Team, DDMAC
Amie C. O'Donoghue, Ph.D., is a Social Science Analyst in the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Food and Drug Administration. As such, she conducts research on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising and the communication of information to physicians and consumers. She also provides technical assistance on research and communication issues to DDMAC staff, CDER staff, and external groups and organizations. Before joining DDMAC, Dr. O'Donoghue taught psychology at St. Mary's College of Maryland. She received her doctorate in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and her undergraduate degrees in psychology and studio art from Lafayette College.

Chris Schroeder, CEO, HealthCentral
Christopher M. Schroeder is Chief Executive Officer of HealthCentral (www.healthcentral.com), a the highest quality collection of condition and wellness-specific interactive experiences focused on people finding and sharing real-life experiences related to their health needs. HealthCentral also manages the leading condition-specific health online advertising network.  The Company has partnerships with leading online health tools (such as Microsoft's HealthVault) and with over 25 leading health non-profits (such as The American Diabetes Association).  HealthCentral's sites reach over 10 million unique users each month. Backed by Polaris Ventures, Sequoia Capital, The Carlyle Group and Allen & Co., HealthCentral recently signed a significant strategic partnership with Interactive Corp (IAC) raising considerable capital for investments and acquisitions. IAC CEO Barry Diller serves on the company's Board of Directors.  

A veteran of online media, Schroeder served as CEO and Publisher of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, which hosts washingtonpost.com and newsweek.msnbc.com, among other leading news and information web sites.   During his tenure, the Company more than quadrupled in revenue and audience, and reached profitability. Previously, Schroeder was CEO and President of LEGI-SLATE, INC, a leading online provider of information on federal and state legislation and regulation for businesses, law firms, government and other organizations. After implementing significant reorganization and operational improvements, Schroeder successfully negotiated the sale of LEGI-SLATE in 1999. 

Prior to joining The Washington Post, Schroeder was a partner with Thayer Capital Partners, a leading private equity company in Washington, DC, and with the investment bank Salomon Brothers in New York, focusing on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions projects for a wide range of Fortune 500 companies.  Schroeder has also had extensive government experience, serving in leading management roles in President George Bush's 1988 and 1992 election campaigns, and working on Secretary of State James A. Baker's staff with then Under Secretary (and currently President of the World Bank) Robert Zoellick. 

Schroeder is a leader in the interactive advertising and marketing services industry. He was a co-founder, and served as Chairman, of the Online Publishers Association (OPA), a leading research and information organization comprised of the CEOs of top online quality content publishers (including MSNBC, The NY Times, Dow Jones, ESPN.) He has served on the Board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).  He has been an investor in and advised companies including the leading high quality hotel booking site, www.fivestaralliance.com, the top career navigation network www.gottamentor.com, and the premier sports blogging company www.sbnation.com.  He also has been active in the successful seed investment group, www.launchboxdigital.com.

He has won numerous awards, including 2008 PharmaVOICE Top 100 Most Inspiring People in Life Sciences, was one of the first interactive executives named to the American Advertising (AAF) Hall of Achievement (a national annual award honoring the leading executives in advertising under the age of 40), and The Silver Medal Award from the AAF and Advertising Club of Metropolitan Washington. Schroeder was named one of the top 40 business executives to watch by Business Forward Magazine, and named among the top 50 most influential people in online media and interactive advertising by Media Magazine.

Schroeder is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the board of the National Cathedral elementary school, and is active in several non-profits.  He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and with honors from Harvard Business School.  He is married to Alexandra Coburn, and has three children:  Jack 12, Julia 10 and Ben 7. 

Howard Shimmel, Senior Vice President, Nielsen Product Leadership, Nielsen Solutions, The Nielsen Company

Howard Shimmel is Senior Vice President, Nielsen Product Leadership, Nielsen Solutions.  In that role, Howard is responsible for product leadership, sales and marketing for Nielsen Solutions products, which integrate media currency databases together to provide a consumer centric view of cross-media usage, and marketing currency databases, which enable the evaluate of media currency data against client's marketing targets.

Prior to his current position, Howard Shimmel was Senior Vice President, Client Insights, Measurement Sciences for The Nielsen Company. In this role, Howard was responsible for specific methodological issues and new business development initiatives, including Nielsen's work on measuring consumer engagement in television programming.

He joined Nielsen from America Online, where he served as Vice President, Market Research from 2001 to 2005.

Prior to AOL, Howard was President of Symmetrical Resources, Inc., from 1997-2001, and he spent a decade at MTV Networks as Vice President of Audience Research.

Mel Sokotch, Author & Consultant
Like many, Mel got his start in advertising at Grey Advertising working in the media department on what was then the Kraft Foods account. He next moved into account management at Ted Bates, and learned the basics helping to create campaigns for the likes of Pfizer's Visine Eye Drops; Warner-Lambert's Rolaids, Certs Mints, Halls Cough Drops; Mobil's Hefty Trash Bags; and Wyler's Lemonade.

Eight years later, Grey enticed him back to help lead GSK's consumer business, including Sucrets, Aqua Fresh Toothpaste; M&M/Mars' Ice Cream Brands; and Thompson Medical's SlimFast.

After nine years back at Grey, Mel moved uptown to Foote Cone & Belding, where he's led many of the agency's most important accounts, including Colgate-Palmolive, Campbell Soup, and the US Postal Service.

Mel also launched and built FCB's consumer healthcare practice, attracting Rx marketers like Merck, Lilly, Alcon and Amgen. Despite the industry's regulatory and political challenges, he helped to create effective launch campaigns for Fosamax, Singulair, Varivax, Strattera, Neulasta, Patanol, and Meridia. 

Along the way Mel authored numerous articles on issues facing the industry; made presentations at key functions and at the FDA; and led studies on "What Works/What Doesn't in DTC Advertising" and "What Works/What Doesn't in Comparative Advertising."

Since leaving the corporate world in 2005, Mel has  kept busy publishing a book "Shortcuts to the Obvious--an Insider's Guide on How to Get More Effective Advertising, More Efficiently," conducting strategic training seminars and handling positioning projects at Rx marketers like Merck, Lilly, Astra-Zeneca as well as at a number of healthcare ad agencies.

Mel is a lifelong resident of New York City. He's a graduate of the City University of New York with a degree in Economics. His wife Joan is a local school principal; son Jon is a NY attorney; and daughter Amy, like Dad, is in the advertising business.

Paul Stevenson, Senior Product Manager, Novo Nordisk

Paul Stevenson had been a visionary leader in product management and marketing for over a decade at companies including Novo Nordisk, Eisai, Del Laboratories, Ferrero and Nabisco. His strong business acumen, analytical and leadership abilities have allowed him to pioneer new strategies and programs in each of his roles. In addition to bringing tremendous results to each brand that he has worked on, Paul has made key contributions that have had a transformational effect on entire organizations and even the industries he has worked in.

At Novo Nordisk, Paul pioneered a patient marketing strategy for analog insulins and devices after years of exclusive focus on healthcare professionals. In this role, Paul launched a first of its kind point-of-care marketing program highlighting benefits of Levemir® and FlexPen® in high opportunity physician offices. Paul also extended the reach of Novo Nordisk's relationship marketing program by partnering with a non-competitive blood glucose monitor company and managed care organizations. Additionally, Paul launched the first corporate compliance and persistency program targeting current analog insulin patients with information about incremental benefits of prefilled devices with program ROI ranging from 5.3: 1 on Levemir® to 12.8: 1 on NovoLog Mix 70/30®. Finally, Paul launched a trade advertising campaign that resulted in an 85% increase in online visits and led the Glucagen Hypokit® brand to exceed its forecast by 20% in his first year on the brand.

Prior to his time at Novo Nordisk, Paul was a Product Manager on the Eisai/Pfizer team for Aricept, a $1B product and the #1 prescribed treatment for Alzheimer's disease worldwide. In this role, Paul increased ROI on a market budget of over $90MM by over 56% through leading development of an integrated multi-channel patient campaign including online, CRM, print and television. He identified new messages that resonated with patients and achieved double-digit top line and bottom line financial growth. During his time as product manager, Paul managed a cross functional team within Eisai and Pfizer, including members in medical, legal, regulatory and manufacturing. Paul also hired and managed several outside agencies and led the Patient Assistance Program, which distributed over $75MM worth of therapy to economically-challenged individuals.

Prior to this experience, Paul served as a Senior Product Manager responsible for numerous brands at companies including Del Laboratories, Ferrero USA, Nabisco Biscuit Company and Mass Merchant Channel, where he brought the same energy, analytical and leadership skills and results-oriented drive that has made him successful throughout his career.

Paul currently resides in Parsippany, NJ with his wife and 2 children and received his M.B.A. in Marketing from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business and his B.S. in Business/Marketing from Marymount College in New York.

Sam Trujillo, Director of Consumer Marketing, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals
Over 20 years experience: Consumer marketing, pharmaceutical marketing and product launch. Cross functional team leadership, strategic planning, brand planning, portfolio management, life cycle management, clinical development, new product commercialization, crisis management, finance, analytics, supply chain¸ co-promotion and specialty field sales/managed care management, health care economics, for Fortune 100 companies, Procter & Gamble, Warner Lambert, Novartis, Bayer, and start-up companies such as Richwood Pharmaceuticals (purchased by Shire) and Walt Disney internship.

Record of accomplishment serving on, or leading, teams for many well-known brands. Over a dozen product launches, six have reached blockbuster status. Experienced pharmaceutical and consumer marketer, globally and in U.S., across several therapeutic categories (primary care, oncology, cardiovascular, neurology, psychiatry, anti-infective, respiratory, gastroenterology, allergy, women's healthcare, health & personal care, etc.). 

Darrell West, Vice President and Director, Governance Studies, Brookings Institute and co-author of Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era
Darrell M. West is the Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. Previously, he was the John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University. He received his B.A. in Political Science at Miami University (of Ohio), and his Ph.D. in Political Science in 1981 from Indiana University. His specializations include mass media, public opinion, technology policy, electronic government, health IT, broadband, and mobile communications.

West is the author of 16 books dealing with media, technology, and public policymaking. His books include Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era (Brookings, 2009), Digital Government: Technology and Public Sector Performance (Princeton University Press, 2005), Biotechnology Policy Across National Boundaries (Palgrave MacMillan, 2007), and Air Wars: Television Advertising in Election Campaigns, 5^th edition (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2009), among others.

He has given lectures on media, technology, and e-government in a dozen countries around the world. Among the countries he has spoken in are Russia, China, Lebanon, Germany, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey, Brazil, Portugal, and Bahrain. He is frequently quoted by radio stations, newspapers, and television outlets on a range of topics.

Fariba Zamaniyan, SVP, Nielsen IAG
With more than 16 years experience, Fariba is a seasoned advertising research expert, well known for her work and public speaking on the impact of prescription drug advertising on consumer response since its inception in the late 90's.

Fariba joined IAG Research in 2005 charged with the development of the healthcare practice. There she currently leads the team in product development; marketing and client management for IAG's syndicated television ad performance measurement tools including program engagement. Her tenure with DTC advertising has been instrumental to the company's significant growth within this sector specifically, identifying synergies that exist between the creative and the selected TV media to enhance campaign ROI. IAG is currently in the process of being acquired with The Nielsen Company where Fariba will be retained to expand the breadth of products and advertising and media services provided within the healthcare space, specifically measurement of alternative promotion channels such as internet and mobile web on DTC advertising.

Before joining IAG, Fariba was a resident consumer behavior expert at Ipsos-Insight where she was Vice President of marketing and business development of Ipsos Health; a practice dedicated to providing custom and syndicated research to prescription drug. Here is where she began her specialization in monitoring consumer response to direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. She was the founder of Ipsos PharmTrends®, a syndicated consumer tracking tool that measured consumer behavioral response to DTC initiatives across ailment categories, which first began tracking the pioneering efforts of the Claritin marketing team.

Through her development and management of these various performance tracking tools, Fariba is a recognized opinion leader and contributor to industry journals, conferences, and events. Before focusing on the pharmaceutical industry, Fariba specialized in retail and consumer research for the consumer products industry, including consumer packaged goods, apparel, and athletic footwear, as well as primary research and tracking expertise within the music and entertainment sectors. Fariba has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and International Business from Ithaca College.