A Reflection on The NPD Group Visit

Written by: Gabriella LoBue, MS Business Analytics, Dec 2019

On Friday, October 24, 2018, a cohort of Zarb graduate students and Dean's Scholars set out to Port Washington to visit the headquarters of one of the leading global market research companies. Founded in 1966, The NPD Group offers corporations strategic advice and recommendations, supported by data analysis and industry expertise, to grow and remain competitive in the dynamic world of business. 

The visit began with a recap from Rebecca Vega about her early days as a Hofstra undergraduate all the way to becoming a Product Development & Marketing Manager at NPD just four years after earning her diploma. Rebecca used her love for fashion to guide her navigation from internships at Kohl's to Jimmy Choo to Viacom, even relocating to Arkansas at one point, through which she fearlessly engaged with and impressed senior level individuals. It was Rebecca’s enthusiasm, willingness to learn and initiative that lead her to an early career of success. Citing Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes (2015), Rebecca encourages students to take advantage of any and every opportunity to expand their breadth of knowledge and experience. 

In addition to Rebecca, we also heard from Gabe Abreu, Head of Global Operations, and Elizabeth Lafontaine, an Industry Analyst Manager. Gabe illustrated The NPD Group’s gargantuan library of data on companies around the world and across twenty different industries. With an insurmountable amount of corporate and customer data that is processed and cleaned each month, The NPD Group maintains its market research edge by pulling relevant numbers and information to address each client’s needs and provide a detailed and carefully formulated solution. Elizabeth explained that while companies can perform analysis on their own internal data, this has limited prospects for overall growth. The NPD Group can offer a much richer analysis by showing corporations how they stand relative to their competitors, and what actions they can take to better their performance in terms of pricing, product management, innovation and customer segmentation to name just a few. 

Finally, we heard from Diane Nicholson, Chief of Staff to the CEO, who shared her experience with NPD’s accommodating attitude towards individuals who wish to try new roles and expand their horizons. In her twenty years of working at NPD, Diane has changed departments from Fashion and Sports to Accessories and Footwear. Her interests in learning new skills or industries were met and encouraged, and it is this fluidity that allowed her to gain more experience and expertise in various facets of the company. Diane urged all of us to foster a desire to learn as we continue our education and embark on our careers. 

The visit ended with an explanation of NPD’s opportunities for students from Steven Ottenstein and Jeneva Patterson-Chalian. While the Summer Associate and Charter Program are aimed at rising juniors and recent graduates respectively, NPD is willing to consider individuals who have the skills, and perhaps more importantly, the hunger to learn. Steven emphasized NPD’s desire for new talent with fresh perspectives and ideas, which, after all, help them stay informed and competitive.