MASB Trailblazer recognition is awarded periodically at summits to individuals who embody the spirit of marketing accountability and have been instrumental in carrying out the MASB mission. The award is named for the first MASB Trailblazer, Joseph Plummer (see below).
Karen Ebben 2022
Karen Ebben, a MASB Director since 2012, serves as co-leader of the Marketing Metric Catalog Project, which established the 10 Characteristics of an Ideal Metric, which led to the creation the Marketing Metric Audit Protocol and MMAP Certified Metrics Catalog. She also co-leads the Sponsorship Accountability Metrics Project, which produced the Sponsorship Accountability blog series and created Sponsorship Best Practices Benchmarking.
Paul Farris 2020
Paul Farris served as MASB Director 2010-2019. As co-leader of the Common Language in Marketing Project, he led the development and launching of the highly successful Common Language Marketing Dictionary (marketing-dictionary.org), which currently has more than 25,000 unique pageviews per month. The resource was designed to eliminate ambiguity among functions within and across firms. The project team meets monthly to review new terms and definitions, and Farris continues to serve as member.
Jim Meier 2019
Jim Meier served as MASB Director from 2013-2018 and was appointed Trustee and Treasurer of the Marketing Accountability Foundation in 2019. A key contributing leader of the Metric Catalog, Continuous Improvement in Return and Brand Investment & Valuation project teams, Jim co-authored the MASB white paper, Applying the Brand Investment & Valuation Model, in 2018.
Meg Blair 2017
Former president of the ARS Group, Margaret (Meg) Henderson Blair co-founded The Boardroom Project in 2004 and was appointed founding President and CEO of the Marketing Accountability Foundation and MASB in October 2007. In 2017, after more than a decade at the helm, she transitioned from these roles to serve as MAF Chair, a role she filled until her unexpected passing in 2018.
Allan Kuse 2017
Former EVP Research for ARS Group, Allan R. Kuse PhD served as MASB Executive Director and Chief Advisor of the MMAP Center from 2008 to 2017. He remains an advisor to the center and currently serves on the Metric Catalog and Common Language in Marketing project teams.
Pam Forbus 2015
Senior Vice President, Consumer Analytics & Insights, at The Walt Disney Studios, Pam Forbus served as MASB Director 2012 – 2015 and co-led the MMAP Marketing Metric Catalog Project team. She became a trustee in 2015 and currently has the role of treasurer for the Marketing Accountability Foundation.
Joe Plummer 2013
Columbia University professor and former ARF executive Joseph Plummer, Ph.D. joined The Boardroom Project in 2006, was key in the MASB kick-off, and then served six years as a Founding Director of MASB and MAF Trustee. He was instrumental in MASB’s CFO Outreach Project and remains an active Director Emeritus.