Management Team

John Freeland is president and chief executive officer of SymphonyIRI Group. Freeland joined SymphonyIRI Group in October 2007.  He is responsible for executing SymphonyIRI Group’s strategy to be the indispensable strategic partner in driving dramatic revenue and productivity improvements for the company’s CPG, retail and healthcare clients through integrated market, consumer and shopper intelligence, predictive insights, disruptive technology and breakthrough business decision solutions.

Freeland possesses more than 28 years of experience in achieving superior financial results based on client value creation.  Before joining SymphonyIRI Group, he served as president-worldwide operations for Salesforce.com, a pioneering leader in the software-as-a-service arena. At Salesforce.com, Freeland was responsible for the company's Successforce portfolio of services and business alliances.

Prior to joining Salesforce.com, Freeland served as a member of Accenture’s executive committee during his successful 26 year career there.  As the head of Accenture's customer relationship management (CRM) practice, Freeland built the business from $1.2 billion to $3.7 billion over five years, creating the largest business consulting service line at the company. Prior to his work in CRM, Freeland spent 20 years in the financial services arena and served as managing partner for the global insurance practice, achieving $ 800 million in annual sales.

Freeland holds a bachelor of arts degree and a master of business administration from Columbia University.

As the chief financial officer (CFO) for SymphonyIRI Group, Mike Duffey is responsible for fiscal balance and operational growth during the company’s transformation period and beyond.

Duffey is a seasoned financial leader and has several years of industry experience in professional services, manufacturing, distribution, communications and banking. He is a creative, performance-driven leader, who focuses on applying leading-edge financial techniques to meet operational needs and enhance competitive positioning in domestic and international markets.

Before joining SymphonyIRI Group, Duffey was the executive vice president and CFO of COVANSYS, a $400 million global information technology services provider. During his time with COVANSYS, he upgraded internal infrastructure through the implementation of SAP in India, and crafted the implementation of Hyperion planning, forecasting and consolidation modules for global planning and reporting. He also was responsible for the execution of a four corner redundant data center and communications configuration.

In addition, he served as senior vice president and CFO for APW, Ltd. and M.A. HANNA Company. He began his accounting career at Price Waterhouse.

Duffey holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loyola University of Chicago. He also earned his master’s degree in economics, finance, and international business from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Jane Altobelli is the executive vice president and chief people officer of human resources for SymphonyIRI Group. Continuing the company’s efforts in building a high-performance culture, Altobelli is responsible for global human resources efforts, talent and performance management, organizational change efforts, staffing, benefits and compensation.

Prior to joining SymphonyIRI Group, Altobelli was senior vice president at Culligan International, a consumer products company that provides water treatment services and solutions. Prior to Culligan, she held a number of human resources executive positions with the premier provider of print and related services, RR Donnelley, where she led organizational development, talent and performance management in her various roles.

In addition to her human resources background, Altobelli has led transformational change efforts, aligning a company’s strategy, structure and culture. She has also implemented human resources strategies across Europe, Asia and South America. Her global and transformational change work has been featured in such publications as Newsweek, Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Altobelli earned a master’s degree in industrial relations and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Nigel Howlett is President of SymphonyIRI Group International.  In this role, Nigel is focused on continuing to aggressively grow the market content, solutions and technology businesses throughout SymphonyIRI Group’s international operations as well as expand the company’s international innovation practice.

Prior to SymphonyIRI Group, Howlett was previously Executive Vice President (global) at OgilvyOne Worldwide and a member of the company’s board of directors. At OgilvyOne, he was responsible for the company’s Global Consulting Practice, which included building global alliances and partnerships, acquisitions, attracting significant new consulting engagements, and tailoring the firm’s services to its international clients.  In this role, Howlett more than tripled the size of the firm’s consulting operation during the last four years. Major contracts signings under his leadership included international assignments with Nestle and Unilever.  He was also responsible for creating a global consulting alliance with IBM and launching a global E-mail Marketing and Digital Dialogue Practice across three continents.

Howlett started with OgilvyOne Worldwide in 1991 as managing director of Ogilvy & Mather DataConsult. He became chairman and CEO of OgilvyOne U.K. in 1996 and was named to his latest position in 2003.  Before OgilvyOne, he served as client services director at The Computing Group from 1988 to 1991.  

Howlett began his career at GKN plc, earning a university scholarship in 1976 prior to graduating in 1980 with roles in sales as a special projects team member. He later served as a product manager and group product manager (1982 to 1984), marketing manager (1984 to1985), and finally, group head of marketing, GKN Vending Services (1985 to1987). 

Howlett earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in business and marketing from UWE Bristol.

Mark Parise, president, IRI, is responsible for the global market information business in the United States and Europe as well as coordinating SymphonyIRI Group’s international partnerships.

Parise, who has previously served as president of SymphonyIRI Group International, residing in the U.K., and president of SymphonyIRI Group Global Content Operations, returned to SymphonyIRI Group in 2006 after serving as president of Experian Marketing Services. He has more than 25 years of experience with world-class companies, including General Electric and Chase Manhattan.

During his career at SymphonyIRI Group, Parise successfully led the company’s operations transformation and launched the Global Operating Center. He was also responsible for the SymphonyIRI Group panel and consumer insights business, the technology marketing and consulting business, the in-store solutions business, the global operations and technology groups and global product management groups.

At GE Capital, Parise served as the auto financial services operations executive of the company’s $12 billion global business. In addition, he held general management positions in GE Capital Auto Leasing and its AAFC business. As senior marketing executive of Chase Manhattan, he designed the business strategy and implemented the marketing and product strategy that drove its auto financial services business from start up to more than $16 billion in annual sales.

As president of Global Innovation and Strategy for SymphonyIRI Group, Thom Blischok leads the development of SymphonyIRI Group’s value proposition for the company’s retail and manufacturer clients and delivers relevant and timely thought leadership to global markets in such areas as shopper centricity, new-wave collaboration, rewiring marketing and merchandising and increasing competitiveness at retail. 

With more than 40 years of experience in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, Blischok leads SymphonyIRI Group’s “think tank” in innovation. He frequently provides commentary on the CPG industry trends for leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Business Week, and speaks at more than 100 conferences per year.

Blischok previously served as Global Chairman of Coopers & Lybrand Retail & Distribution; President of AT&T Global Consulting; and Chairman and CEO of MindMeld, Inc., a market-leading, shopper intelligence company whose client base has included Walmart, Kmart, Food Lion, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Family Dollar, Dollar General, 7-11 as well as a number of international retailers.

Bernhard Nann leads SymphonyIRI Group’s technology operations and focuses on generating value from existing and new technology solutions, ensuring client satisfaction with technology deliverables and strengthening technology alliances.

Nann, who has more than 20 years of experience, has a wealth of technology expertise in the areas of integrated technology, product management, operations and implementation.

Most recently, Nann was senior vice president and chief technology officer for Fair Isaac (NYSE:FIC). Nann joined Fair Isaac in 2003 after the company purchased NAREX, founded by Nann in 1995.  At Fair Isaac, he held numerous positions during his five year tenure there, starting as vice president, collections and recovery analytics solutions and ending with his current position as senior vice president and chief technology officer.

Nann founded NAREX in 1995 and developed highly-innovative analytics and collection agency placement management platform products and a proprietary artificial intelligence-based scoring and optimization technology. Before founding NAREX, he held several positions at TRW Inc. 

Nann earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical and industrial engineering from Universitaet Stuttgart in Germany. He also earned his M.B.A. from The Ohio State University.

President, Consumer & Shopper Marketing, SymphonyIRI

As president, Consumer & Shopper Marketing, SymphonyIRI, Robert Tomei oversees growth, development and management of the company’s Consumer & Shopper Insights, Test Marketing, Digital Media, Shopper Segmentation & Targeting and Shopper Marketing businesses.

Tomei is a recognized industry luminary and market research veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the CPG industry.  He has a distinguished track record in general management and global marketing, developing innovative client solutions and creating strategic partnerships to drive profitable revenue growth, both in the United States and internationally.

Joining SymphonyIRI from TNS, a leading global market insight and information group, Tomei served as president, TNS-U.S. Areas of Expertise & Marketing and global head of TNS’ 6th Dimension Access Panels. In this role, he oversaw Brand and Communications, Product Development and Innovation, Stakeholder Management, and Retail and Shopper Insights practices. In addition, he managed and directed TNS’ online access panels in the U.S. and internationally.

Prior to his tenure at TNS, Tomei spent 13 years at ACNielsen, leaving the firm as president of Nielsen’s Homescan consumer panel business.  At ACNielsen, he drove the development and management of its consumer purchase panel in the United States and led product and service innovations around consumer and shopper insight applications.  Earlier in his career at ACNielsen, Tomei served in a variety of senior-level positions at ACNielsen-VNU, including chief marketing officer for the VNU Marketing Information Group and senior vice president for ACNielsen-U.S. Product Management and Marketing organization.

Before ACNielsen, Tomei held senior-level marketing positions at Bristol-Myers and Philip Morris USA. 

Tomei earned his master’s degree in business administration/social sciences at the University of Chicago and his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Fordham University. He is also the founder and acting chairperson of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) Online Research Quality Council.

As executive vice president and general manager for the Market Information Group for SymphonyIRI Group, Mike Kaskie oversees the company’s industry-leading Beer, Wine, Spirits & Tobacco, Beauty and Mid-Market vertical practices, which includes a number of the nation’s top to mid-sized CPG manufacturer and broker organizations and provides a unique blend of vertical domain expertise and next generation market content, solutions and services to solve emerging business issues.. In addition, he is also responsible for the company’s Customer Interaction Center and for driving sales excellence and engagement across all major deal types, including renewals, new business pursuits and large complex transactions.

Kaskie is a seasoned sales and marketing professional and has provided strategic counsel and services to the top executives at the majority of leading CPG companies during his 25 year career.  Before joining SymphonyIRI in 1999, Kaskie worked for Marbo, Inc., where he was responsible for generating all sales for the Tampico Juice Drink brand in the United States. In addition, he held brand and market development and sales positions at G. Heilman Brewing Company and sales positions at Con Agra Frozen Foods, where he managed $325 million in frozen and grocery food products. During his career, Kaskie has also held sales positions with Nestle Foods, Coca-Cola Foods and Procter & Gamble Company.

He earned his bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Tulsa.

 

Robert Holston is executive vice president of Symphony Analytics, North America. He is an 18-year veteran of the products and service industries and has a long history of experience in shopper-centric predictive analytics and client value creation. Leading the North America analytics practice, he is focused on enabling clients to achieve high-impact business outcomes through a unique combination of predictive analytical techniques, proprietary rapid-modeling platforms, leading-edge automated solutions, and experienced analytics consulting talent. He previously led the analytics business relationship with some of SymphonyIRI’s largest global clients.

Prior to joining SymphonyIRI, he was the practice leader for Shopper Marketing at Deloitte Consulting LLC within its Strategy & Operations - Consumer Products Service Line. Previously, Holston was the global director of Shopper Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company where he was responsible for the development and deployment of The Coca-Cola Way of Shopper Marketing to the global business operating units and customer teams.

Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Holston worked for a tier-one management consulting firm in their Brand Strategy and Customer Relationship Management Practice where he supported the development and growth of the brand analytics business.

Previously, he spent five years with Mobil Oil Corporation where he gained considerable retail experience in roles of increasing responsibility in finance, retail brand development, store operations and franchise management.

Holston is a frequent contributor to publications and his analysis and points-of-view on retail marketing and the commercialization of brand strategy have appeared in AdAge, Brand Week, Fortune and The Financial Times.

He has an undergraduate degree in finance and marketing from Drexel University and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

As managing director for SymphonyIRI Group, Dr. Davey leads the company’s strategic consulting practice and is focused on developing and applying innovative marketing solutions to solve a variety of business problems and providing strategic insight and direction to SymphonyIRI Group’s clients. Bringing to this role more than 22 years of experience at leading consulting, media/advertising, syndicated research and custom market research companies, Dr. Davey is focused on generating even further growth for the CPG and retail consulting practices at SymphonyIRI Group.

Prior to joining SymphonyIRI Group, Dr. Davey was a Partner at the global consultancy, Oliver Wyman where he worked with leaders in technology, media, leisure and entertainment industries on a variety of marketing strategy engagements.

Dr. Davey’s work experience spans the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Dr. Davey has overseen several large-scale strategic marketing engagements for many of the world’s leading consumer goods and services companies over his 22 years of consulting career. He has led engagements in demand assessment and offer design, pricing, marketing spend allocation and optimization, customer profitability improvement, corporate and brand repositioning, brand portfolio optimization, sales effectiveness, channel management, new product launch, and marketing capability building. He has worked with a wide variety of survey and syndicated data, internal and external databases, marketing research tools and methodologies, and marketing science models. Prior to his role at Oliver Wynman, Dr. Davey was the general manager at WPP’s Grey Global Group and MediaCom, where he built the Marketing ROI Practice. Prior to that, he held management positions in the marketing consulting practices at Knowledge Networks, McKinsey & Company, ACNielsen and ORC.

Dr. Davey holds a Ph.D. in marketing modeling from Vanderbilt University. His dissertation on choice modeling won the coveted best dissertation award in 1991. A recognized thought leader, Dr. Davey has published articles in leading journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Pricing, Strategy and Management, Mercer Management Journal and McKinsey Quarterly and has spoken at a number of industry conferences, including those of the Marketing Science Institute and the Advertising Research Foundation.

As senior vice president of marketing, John McIndoe is responsible for SymphonyIRI Group’s marketing efforts, including corporate branding, communications strategy, thought leadership, events, media and analyst relations and marketing communications supporting the company’s ongoing transformation, innovation and growth initiatives.

McIndoe possesses more than 15 years of experience in achieving superior marketing results.  He joined SymphonyIRI Group to lead the company’s U.S.-based communications efforts and was later promoted to vice president of global media and analyst relations, and was then elevated to global vice president of corporate marketing.

Before joining SymphonyIRI Group, McIndoe was with InstallShield Software Corporation, a leading enterprise software firm, where he helped the company transition from a world-renowned tools provider to that of a recognized enterprise-class software solutions company. Earlier in his career, he led communications and Internet development for FARGO Electronics, a Minnesota-based developer of specialized computer hardware equipment.  At FARGO, he was part of the team that led the business expansion into the consumer space and launched the industry’s first digital color photo printer line, which created an entirely new space of printing. Prior to FARGO, he held marketing and communications positions in the high-tech agency sector with Ruder Finn, Inc. and Parallax Technology, Chicago-based public relations and integrated marketing firms, respectively. He worked with such clients as ACI, Ameritech, CCH (Wolters Kluwer), Challenger Gray & Christmas, Comdisco, Paul Stuart and Stouffer Foods (Nestle).

McIndoe earned his bachelor’s degree in communications with a concentration in business and marketing from Bradley University and is a member of the Marketing Executive’s Networking Group (MENG), the Business Marketing Association and Executives’ Club of Chicago.