Rod founded the first of four technology companies in 1988. As the founder of CognitiveDATA, a winning marketing technology firm, he joined Merkle three years ago through acquisition. Today, he leads the Specialty Retail practice for Merkle, leveraging his passion for innovation through the development of rapid-cycle, repeatable solutions to operationalize the value of connected CRM for retailers of all types: catalogers, internet retailers and specialty niche retailers. Rod holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Al Bessin has provided leadership for retail and direct marketing businesses at strategic and tactical levels since 1983. At Merkle, Al oversees the Data Management team in the Specialty Retail group, which deploys and supports Merkle’s Specialty Retail marketing solution. Al joined Merkle in 2011, when the consulting firm he was with, serving as a partner for six years, was acquired. Prior to that, he served as co-CEO for direct marketer The Golfworks, COO for music-industry giant Musician’s Friend, vice president for international retailer Golfsmith and territory development executive with Apple. Al has an MBA from SMU and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.

Andy Cossette began developing his technology leadership skills during his 12 year tenure with Accenture, where he gained experience in the financial services, utilities, and telecommunications industries. During his final two years with Accenture, he helped develop and support a repeatable technology platform that was highly leveraged by several emerging telecommunications companies. He brought those skills to the direct marketing industry in 2002, when he architected and developed the initial version of the marketing database platform that has evolved into the enabling technology to adapt Merkle’s Connected CRM strategy for specialty retailers. At Merkle, he leads the technology and innovation team that continually enhances our technology offerings and crafts right-sized solutions to lead our specialty retail clients to realize the benefits of Connected CRM. Andy holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

David Swezey has over 18 years of direct and database marketing experience. His responsibilities include the development of analytically driven, multi-channel, CRM solutions for the retail industry. He is helping clients such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer and Under Armour drive revenue growth by leveraging data across all media.

Prior to joining Merkle, David worked as the vice president, major brands at Harte-Hanks, delivering database, interactive, call center and fulfillment solutions. He also spent several years in the database marketing unit at Donnelley Marketing/InfoUSA where he was responsible for implementing customer acquisition and email retention programs for retail, catalog and consumer package goods companies.

David holds a BS in communications from McDaniel College with additional studies in business management and marketing communications.

John Watkins has more than 15 years of operational leadership experience within both entrepreneurial and enterprise level organizations. Within the Specialty Retail group John leads processing, data acquisition and operational efforts. Prior to joining Merkle, John spent seven years as the director of data acquisition with ChoicePoint overseeing data assessment, acquisition and compliance activities while working with the ChoiecPoint products team to create new data products. Prior to ChoicePoint, John spent several years working in the financial services vertical as a client engagement leader.

Allison Owen joined Merkle five years ago, being named vice president of client engagement in February 2011. Allison leads the Specialty Retail vertical's client engagement experience, leading a dedicated team of client engagement and client relationship professionals. She is responsible for the health and nurturing of many national clients such as The Gap, Limited, Urban Outfitters, TGI Fridays, Miles Kimball, Tommy Hilfiger, Crate & Barrel, etc. Previously, Allison worked at Acxiom for 11 years leading key client engagements such as AIG, Reiman Publishing and The Hartford Insurance. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Central Arkansas.

Mark has over 15 Years of experience in the direct marketing industry, including his 10 years on the CognitiveDATA executive team. He leads the business development efforts for the specialty retail vertical and works closely with top clients and executive sponsors. Previously, Mark worked at Acxiom for 5 years in the emerging markets group. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science from University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Accounting.

Nancy leads a client team that is responsible for managing complex CRM engagements in the specialty retail vertical. These engagements involve the integration of multiple Merkle services, including strategy, analytics, technology, mobile, creative, and production services. Nancy joined Merkle in February 2010 as a lead in the account management group and has served several major retail clients.

Nancy has more than 20 years in the marketing industry, primarily working with multi-channel organizations. Prior to Merkle, Nancy spent seven years handling strategic retail accounts for Experian. In that role, Nancy managed large retail engagements such as Limited Brands, Intuit, Talbots, J Jill and many other retailers. Prior to Experian, Nancy had 11 years rising through the ranks on the client side at companies like Spiegel, JC Whitney, Crate & Barrel, and Barrie Pace. While her greatest level of expertise is direct mail, Nancy has experience across a wide array of responsibilities – CRM for direct marketing, retail, and email, site development, planning, forecasting, and merchandising/inventory control. Just prior to Experian, Nancy was VP Marketing at Barrie Pace Ltd, a Division of HartMarx.