Essentails of Marketing - Program Instructors
Marci Armstrong, Ph.D., is associate dean of graduate programs, responsible for strategic leadership of the MBA, Professional MBA, Executive MBA, MA/MBA in Arts Administration, JD/MBA, MS in Management, MS in Entrepreneurship and MS in Accounting programs. A six-time teaching award honoree, Armstrong teaches courses in the MBA, PMBA and executive education programs. She is an experienced consultant, who works with leading private and public companies of all sizes. Her recent work focuses on helping companies understand what it truly means to be customer centric, how to create memorable customer experiences, and how to create loyal customer advocates and achieve sustainable growth. Armstrong serves as vice chair of the Graduate Management Admission Council® board of directors and previously served seven years as member and chair of the Executive MBA Council Board. Before joining SMU Cox, she was associate dean and faculty member at Washington University’s Olin School of Business in St. Louis. Armstrong holds a doctor of philosophy degree in management science from the University of Texas at Dallas, where she focused on solving marketing problems with quantitative methods.
Richard Briesch, Ph.D., is associate professor of marketing. Briesch’s research interests include modeling consumer decision making, sales promotions and econometric methods, including non-parametric techniques. His articles have appeared in leading journals, including “Marketing Science,” the “Journal of Marketing Research,” the “Journal of the American Statistical Association,” the “Journal of Consumer Research,” the “Journal of Retailing,” “Marketing Letters” and the “Journal of Business and Economic Statistics.” Briesch won the Davidson award for best paper in the “Journal of Retailing” in 2002. He’s also the recipient of an SMU Cox research excellence award in 2009 and outstanding teaching award in 2007. Briesch holds a bachelor of science degree from Carnegie Mellon University, a master’s degree in business administration from Rice University and a doctor of philosophy degree from Northwestern University.
Daniel J. Howard Ph.D., is professor of marketing and served as head of the Marketing Department from 1993 to 2008. Howard has published extensively in the area of influence and persuasion. He currently serves as associate editor of “Social Influence” and is an editorial board member for the “Journal of Advertising.” Howard has received a number of SMU awards, including an SMU Cox research excellence award, outstanding MBA and BBA teacher awards, and outstanding professor on campus award. In addition, Business Week has recognized him as an outstanding graduate marketing faculty member. Howard has consulted with leading corporations, including KFC, Fannie Mae, Honeywell, Texas Instruments and JPI. He has also served as a marketing expert in litigation matters for a variety of companies, including AT&T, Enterprise, AMP, NCAA and EDS. Howard holds a doctor of philosophy degree in business administration from Ohio State University, where he specialized in marketing and consumer behavior.
Jacquelyn S. Thomas, Ph.D., is associate professor of marketing. Thomas’ research interests lie in the areas of customer-relationship management, database and direct marketing, and social media. Past projects have involved retail direct marketing firms, general merchandise retailers, aviation organizations, electronic brokerage firms, high-technology firms and publishing organizations. She has written a book entitled “Customer Equity” and articles published in the “Journal of Marketing Research,” the “Journal of Marketing,” the “Harvard Business Review,” the “Journal of Service Research,” and the “Journal of Interactive Marketing.” In 2006, Thomas was the recipient of the Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award for "Balancing Acquisition and Retention Resources to Maximize Customer Profitability," a 2005 article published in the “Journal of Marketing.” She serves on the editorial board of the “Journal of Marketing” and is an ad-hoc reviewer for several other marketing journals. Thomas holds three degrees from Northwestern University—a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics, a master of science degree in marketing and a doctor of philosophy degree in marketing.