MEET OUR ISBM PRATICE AND RESEARCH FELLOWS

One of the foremost experts in B2B innovation, Dan has trained tens of thousands of global marketing, technical and sales professionals across every conceivable B2B industry.  Dan uses these in-depth workshops and annual coaching web-conferences to continue refining his methods, as project teams apply them in the crucible of real-world practice.

In recent years, Dan Adams and his team have conducted significant original research into the behaviors that drive B2B organic growth. Because he regularly works with the largest B2B firms in the world, he can help your leadership team establish a dependable roadmap to profitable, sustainable organic growth.

He helps firms understand what customers want in a new product, launch their new product explosively and critically, avoid “landmines” that blow up high-stakes projects (de-risking).

Dan is author of “New Product Blueprinting: The Handbook for B2B Organic Growth.”  An award-winning speaker, he has lectured at Wharton’s Executive MBA program and other American & European universities and is a popular industry keynote speaker.

Robert G. Cooper is one of the most influential innovation thought-leaders in the business world today. He pioneered many ground-breaking discoveries in product innovation, including the Stage-Gate® Idea-to-Launch Process, now implemented by almost 80% of North American companies. Having spent 40+ years studying the practices and pitfalls of 3000+ new product projects in thousands of companies, he has assembled the world’s most comprehensive research in the field of product innovation management.

Are your product innovation, development and launch processes world-class?  Are you looking for faster, more efficient product development and greater launch success?

A prolific author, Dr. Cooper has published 100+ academic articles and thirteen books, including the best-selling Winning at New Products, now in its 5th edition. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Crawford Fellow from the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and the Maurice Holland Award from the Industrial Research Institute (IRI). He is also Professor Emeritus of Marketing and Technology Management at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.

The “batting average” for managers in picking winning projects for Development is about 25%.

A toss of a coin would be better: 50%!

Cooper’s  Value Based Scorecard, based on the NewProd model, is even better, closer to 80%.

Over the past decade, Ralph has mentored and trained thousands of B2B marketers, leading global growth initiatives for GE, DuPont, Pioneer, Axalta, Samsung, Pfizer and others, and most recently through strategic workshops in collaboration with ISBM.

Ralph began his career in agency management where he developed his passion for brands working on big brands like Kellogg’s, Del Monte, Nestle, Pizza Hut, Mattel, and Coca-Cola. A long-time collaborator with ISBM, he frequently lectures at the VCU Brand Center, the University of Richmond, the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Northwestern University and other institutions.

Ralph is a strategic thought leader focused on helping companies optimize go-to-market, brand and experience strategies for growth.

Gerry Katz is a recognized authority in the fields of marketing, market research and new product development.

Gerry joined AMS in 1992 and pioneered the field now known as Voice of the Customer market research.  For many years, Gerry has taught practical, hands-on methods for gathering and using Voice of the Customer (VOC) information to both individuals and teams. He has taught thousands of professionals around the globe about the theory and practice of VOC and other state-of-the-art innovation research methods.

If you are seriously looking to get a more rigorous, in-depth understanding of customer needs regarding your organization’s products and services, Gerry can help.  During his time at AMS, he served dozens of clients across many diverse B2B industries including, industrial products, financial services, medical devices, and many others.  His company’s most recent work identifying product improvement insights from customer-generated content such as product reviews and customer chat, has opened a new source of innovation ideas for businesses.

Katz has been a perennial contributor to the market research and innovation industries. Over the years, he has participated in nearly 100 industry conferences—most notably as chair of the Product Development and Management Association’s (PDMA) annual Voice of the Customer conference—offering workshops, presenting new methods, and highlighting client successes. For 9 years he served on the PDMA board, chairing its Body of Knowledge committee. He has written numerous articles for PDMA Visions, Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, and other industry and academic publications, and has contributed important chapters to textbooks on product development, cementing reputation as a respected and influential leader in the world of market research and innovation.

Since 1997, Ralph has worked with firms to build more profitable business marketing practices by connecting practitioners to researchers through educational programs, and counsel. A small sample of the companies he has worked  with: DuPont, Deloitte, Honeywell, Timken, Dow, Arkema, IBM, GE, National Starch and Chemical, Parker Hannifin, Swagelok, PPG.

Before joining Penn State, Ralph spent 23 years in B-to-B and consumer marketing, and established a “Virtual University” for marketing at Texas Instruments. He has served as V.P. of Market Communications and Design for TI worldwide, and leader of the TI.com web Team.

Wondering if your business capabilities are strong enough to drive growth?  Looking for key areas to improve your B2B Marketing?  Thinking about re-branding?  Chat with Ralph.

Ralph has written for Marketing Management magazine, is active in Executive Education, and the Smeal College MBA program, where he received 11 teaching awards from his students. He teaches B-to-B Marketing, Strategic Brand Management, and Integrated Market Communications. His research focus is on tracking the trends shaping business markets, Business-to-Business brands and ingredient brands.

Specialties: Business-to-Business Marketing, Strategic Brand Management, Integrated Market Communications, Executive Education, Coaching, Networking with thought leaders in academia and business, B2B, B-to-B marketing.  His current focus areas are in brand strategy and Integrated Strategic Communications, with a special focus on Ingredient Branding.

Joanne is best known for her practical, pragmatic approach and her ability to build courage, confidence and conviction for businesses to take bold pricing actions.

Is your company actively using Value-Based Pricing to design/develop new products/services, market, negotiate and sell them to your B2B Customers?  If you are not, you have not maximized profit from all of your efforts as price is the biggest lever for profitability.

Joanne will help your company develop world class pricing and profit strategies as well as train your sales organizations to deliver on the strategy.

Prior to founding Price to Profits Consulting in 2013, Joanne was the former Corporate Head of Marketing, Pricing and Customer loyalty for DuPont. Joanne transformed DuPont’s pricing processes and capabilities from weak to outstanding while delivering unparalleled profits.

She is the author of The Price Negotiation Playbook, The Pricing and Profit Playbook and Pricing in a Crisis Playbook and on the faculty for the Professional Pricing Society (PPS) and The Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM).  All of these Playbooks should be on your team’s bookshelves.

Joanne has broad and diverse experience leading B2B marketing pricing, business development and customer loyalty initiatives, generating millions of dollars to bottom lines in multiple industries, including chemicals, industrial, polymers, food/nutrition, agricultural, automotive, safety, and electronics.

She is an expert in pricing and profit management and transformation, product management and development, cross-functional collaboration and leadership, business transformation and change management, customer loyalty initiatives, B2B marketing strategies, marketing and customer segmentation, and team leadership.

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“I’ve never felt this empowered going into a price increase.”

“Confidence – that’s what I feel.”

“And conviction!”.

— Milliken: 3 Sales professionals at close of price training workshop

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“My business was facing severe pricing pressure. Joanne taught and guided us to a surprising strategy – one that paid off big time.”

— Dr. Hans-Detlef Luginsland, Vice President, Evonik

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“Joanne’s Rapid Pricing Transformation Evaluation absolutely exceeded our expectations. We now have a 2-year roadmap. Joanne brings outstanding pricing experience and credibility.”

— Matt Mears, Lennox Industries

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“Smith’s pricing course was fantastic. She provided practical insights. Smith is a great teacher.”

— Arthur Schulthesis, Air Liquide

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“This is the best course I have taken in my career. Our full sales force should take this course”

— European Polymers Sales Manager

In his role as Professor of Marketing at Georgetown University, Bob has taught courses in Strategic Market Segmentation, Marketing Research, New Product Development, Marketing Strategy, and the Customer Analytics Practicum. Bob has held a variety of leadership positions at Georgetown University including the School of Continuing Studies, the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, the Executive Master’s in leadership, a Master of Science in Business Analytics, and a Master of Science in the Environment and Sustainability Management.

Are you looking to optimize your go-to-market resources?  Are you spending the right amount to keep your best customers – or too much?  Do you know who your best customer are?

Bob has over 50 publications in the areas of new product development, market segmentation, organizational buying behavior, business-to-business marketing, and forecasting. His book, New Product Development: Managing and Forecasting for Strategic Success, was a featured selection of the Fortune Book Club and his book New Product Success Stories: Lessons from Leading Innovators has been published in several languages.

Dr. Robert J. Thomas is a Professor of Marketing at Georgetown University.  He is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Professional Development and Innovation; and Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research.  Bob serves on the editorial boards and is an active member in numerous academic associations.  He has designed and taught executive education seminars in the U.S. and several countries and has consulted with over 50 organizations in a wide variety of industries and cultures, including both consumer and B2B products and services.

Stefan is a marketing strategy expert with an interest in collaboration and innovation in B2B markets. Specifically, he studies how firms can balance value creation (e.g., in collaboration with buyers, suppliers, industry peers, employees) with value appropriation. He also studies how technology transforms marketing (e.g., digitalized business solutions, platforms, emerging technologies, licensing).

Stefan Wuyts is Professor of Marketing and Director of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets at the Smeal College of Business, Penn State.

Prior to joining Penn State in 2018, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Erasmus University Rotterdam (2003-2004), and member of the faculty at Tilburg University (the Netherlands, 2005-2010) and Koç University (Turkey, 2010-2018). At Koç University, he also served as Director of the Graduate School of Business.

Stefan’s research interests include B2B marketing, innovation, interorganizational relationships, and networks. He is intrigued by the management and governance of complex organizational forms (platforms, alliance portfolios, multilateral alliances, marketing ecosystems), and the impact of digital technology and sustainability on business markets. He coauthored Social Networks and Marketing (MSI, 2007) and coedited The Connected Customer – The Changing Nature of Consumer and Business Markets (Routledge, 2010) and the Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing (Elgar, 2022). His research was published in Journal of Marketing (JM), Journal of Marketing Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing (IJRM), Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS), Journal of Operations Management, and Journal of Management, among others. Stefan serves as Associate Editor for JM, JAMS, and IJRM, and received several Outstanding Reviewer and Area Editor Awards.

In his research, which is essentially phenomenon-driven, Stefan loves interacting and working with B2B marketing practitioners to identify and address managerially relevant research questions. In his role as ISBM Director, his two top priorities are to (1) stimulate more doctoral students and junior faculty to focus on B2B marketing problems and (2) bridge the worlds of B2B marketing practice and academia.

BIO SHORT VERSION (~ 150 words)

Stefan is fascinated by B2B marketing, innovation, and interfirm relationships. His recent research focuses on platforms, marketing ecosystems, networks, digital technology, and sustainability. Recently, he coedited the Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing (Elgar, 2022). His academic articles appeared in various premier journals in marketing and related disciplines. He serves as Associate Editor at three leading marketing journals.

Stefan loves interacting with B2B marketers to identify managerially relevant research questions. As ISBM Director, he aims to stimulate doctoral students to study B2B marketing and bridge the worlds of B2B marketing practice and academia.

Laura Patterson is a growth strategy consultant to business leaders. Obsessed with helping companies take a customer-centric, data-to-insights, performance management approach to growth and to making business decisions with more confidence. She is a  trusted advisor with global customers within the technology, cybersecurity, financial services, life sciences, and manufacturing industries.

Laura collaborates with firms to accelerate profitable customer-centric growth by mobilizing leading-edge analytics, leveraging proven frameworks and processes, and integrating lessons from best practices. Her clients tap this expertise to foster faster, more confident decisions, organizational alignment, operational excellence and to build critical skills. As a trusted partner with scores of firms since 1999, she works side-by-side in creating and driving strategies that produce results.

Laura co-founded VisionEdge Marketing in 1999, serving customers like Cisco, Elsevier, Howden, Kennametal, Tektronix, Southwest Airlines Cargo, and over 200 more worldwide. Her expertise is regularly tapped by business associations such as the 4As, ANA, Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM); academic institutions like Dartmouth, Oklahoma State, Truman State; and, publishers such as CEO Refresher, MarketingProfs, Nimble and academic journals; Marketing Technology companies such as Allocadia, Engagio, Hive9, and Marketo.

Dr. Liam Fahey has an extensive academic background and 30 years of practical experience in a variety of industries around the world. His corporate clients include AT&T, Baxter, Bausch & Lomb, Corn Products, DaimlerChrysler, DuPont, Emerson Electric, GE, GM, Hartmarx, Honeywell, IBM, J&J, Lucent, 3M, Marriott Hotels, Motorola, National Starch and Chemical, Nortel, P&G, Pfizer, Schering‐Plough, Texas Instruments, The Saint Paul Companies, Unisys, USG, US West, and Whirlpool.   He has delivered executive education for more than 10 universities around the globe.

Dr. Liam Fahey’s consulting, teaching, research and writing focus on enabling organizations to win in the marketplace through enhanced marketplace intelligence and insight. His custom-designed intelligence and insight workshops have enabled organizations to develop a deeper understanding of their emerging and potential competitive environments; understanding that makes a real difference in their thinking, decisions, and action. The difference is reflected in the development of new points of view about the future, new strategy options, new modes of strategy execution, and new organization-wide capabilities.

He is also the founder and leader of LFI’s Intelligence Leadership Forum. The Forum allows intelligence and insight practitioners to learn from each other, to hone their personal and professional skills and to augment their organizations’ thinking and decision capabilities. Liam is the author or editor of eight books and more than fifty articles or book chapters, including Competitors: Outwitting, Outmaneuvering, and Outperforming and The Insight Discipline: Crafting New Marketplace Understanding that Makes a Difference.

Prior to co‐founding LFE, he taught at Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and at Boston University. He serves as Professor of Management Practice at Babson College. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Bio-Science:

Competitive Analysis – The firm was concerned its competitive future might be radically different than its prevailing competitive context. Liam Fahey developed an education experience, using scenarios, to craft alternative competitive futures and derive contingent strategies.

Chemical Products:

End-to-End Marketing Strategy – The firm decided to correct some obvious deficiencies in marketing. Liam Fahey co-developed a multi-year four-day program focused on end-to-end strategic marketing – from analyzing competitive market trends to the details of strategy execution.

Industrial Technology:

Increasing Value to Customers – The firm’s market diagnostics indicated that customers unexpectedly rated its products and services poor compared to rivals. Liam Fahey co-developed a two-day workshop that enabled intact teams to develop and take to market new customer value propositions for several of the firm’s major products.

Professional Services:

Attaining Deeper Insight – The firm established a stretch goal for its analysis teams: to extract greater value from its client analysis projects. Liam Fahey developed a two-day program that walked the analysis teams through all the phases of crafting and leveraging insight and enabled the teams through a series of breakout sessions to apply the learning to specific analysis projects.

With over 35 years of experience in B2B Sales AND Marketing, Vince offers a unique and solid perspective of how they should work together to maximize your customer experience. 

Additionally, when serving as a Virtual Chief Marketing Officer (VCMO), he is able to assess your marketing methodologies and provide recommendations for improving your overall approach.  He has saved his clients thousands of dollars in wasted execution by assessing and making valuable adjustments to their tactical design.

• Is your company capitalizing on your primary assets for business growth?
• Are you efficiently using the most used and effective communication method in B2B marketing?
• Do you feel like your marketing is not firing on all cylinders as well as it should?

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“Vince is a 10/10.  He is competent, trustworthy, and knowledgeable and provides a service that we could not get elsewhere.  We’ve used other marketing companies and not been nearly as satisfied as we have been with the VCMO services we received through this program.”

–    Jenifer Eden, Original Saw Company

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“What can I say about Vince?  He gets it.  If your marketing plan needs a refresh or a rebuild, Vince is your guy. He understands the struggles within small businesses and is able to help distill your wants and needs into attainable strategic goals.”

–    Scott Kruger, J-TEC Associates

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“Vince is an exceptional professional advisor.  He has mentored and guided our organization in strategy development and tactical implementation.”

–    James Shobert, Professional Business Advisor

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“In working with Vince on several projects, I can honestly say that I have never worked with anyone so organized and driven to keep a project on-task.  He’s professional.  He’s proficient.  He’s a class-act.  Empathetic, yet unafraid to address the facts.”

–    Eric Sparrow, Founder of Milkhouse Creamery, Inc.