The Altria Executive Seminar Series is an important component of the MMR curriculum. Throughout the program, marketing research practitioners take time from busy schedules to visit the UGA campus and share their industry insight with MMR students. The series offers a valuable supplement to the traditional program coursework and provides a medium for introducing MMR students to the latest industry trends and practices.
All seminars are scheduled for 4 – 5:15 pm. Seminars are only open to students in the MMR program.
2025-2026 Series
Heather Waters (MMR Research)
June 9, 2025: Creating Persuasive PowerPoint Presentations
Dr. James Anderson (UGA)
June 16, 2025: Managing Group Dynamics through Collaborative Problem Solving
Anna Snell (Directions Research)
July 14, 2025: Storytelling/Info Visualization
Delicia Cooney (Newell Brands)
September 23, 2025: Bridging Insights and Influence
Paul Allaire (UGA)
October 2, 2025: Pitch, Interviewing, and Negotiation
Cat (Knotts) Stine (Kantar)
October 9, 2025: Brand Equity
Joey Deutsch and Julissa Munguia (SKIM)& Paul Dobson and Ashley Anderson (Chick-fil-A)
October 22, 2025: Client vs Supplier
Lance Worley & Cameron Gonzalez (NewtonX)
October 23, 2025: B2B Marketing Research
Eleonore Kuehn (Intuit)
October 29, 2025: Research in Consulting
Dan Wasserman (KJT)
November 7, 2025: AI in Research
Zain Raj, Elbert Singleton, Jennifer Renaud & Latrice Abaniyie (Shapiro & Raj)
November 14, 2026: Immersion Day
Charlie Farr & Mike Kessling (Chick-fil-A)
November 21, 2025: Class Field trip to the Hatch
Caroline Prak – (Eli Lilly)
January 20, 2026: Interview Best Practices
Lindsay Zaltman (Olson Zaltman)
January 28, 2026: Tapping into the Consumer Unconscious
Erika Quinn (Disney)
February 13, 2026: The Role of Insights in Storytelling
Brendan Marz & Lisa Fridley (MarketVision)
February 18, 2026: Advanced Analytical Research & Real World Issues to Consider
Mary Keever (Lynx Research)
February 26, 2026: AI Project Overview
Tricia Houston & Jay Scott (KS&R)
March 24, 2026: Experience Design
Tyler Krug & Haley Swafford (Microsoft)
March 31, 2026: Embracing the Challenge of Change at Microsoft