Debbie Pruent

MS; Applied Statistics; Oakland University
BS; Mathematics; Wayne State University
BS; Computer Science; Wayne State University

Debra A. Pruent is retired from GfK, SE where she was COO and a member of the Management Board. She was responsible for the strategy, M&A activity, talent and operational execution of the company’s global custom research and consumer panel sector. She became a GfK Management Board member in 2008 and was the first American and only second woman to ever be named to the Board. She also served on the company Boards of the Italian, Austrian, China and India companies which were part of the GfK global portfolio.

Debbie has significant experience in the market research industry. Prior to her role on the GfK Management Board she held executive positions at GfK Custom Research North America and NOP World Automotive, which was acquired by the GfK Group in 2005. During her professional career, she built up a strong track record in research and consultancy, both on the client and the research institute side. After starting her career in 1983 with General Motors, Debbie joined automotive research company Allison-Fisher International in 1991 as a partner, which later became a part of NOP World.

Additionally, Debbie also previously served for 8 years on the Advertising Research Foundation’s Board of Directors and spent 3 years as Chairman of their Finance Committee. She also previously taught Statistics at Oakland University.

Since retirement, Debbie has become an advisory board member for data analytics company We Predict, based in the UK and is also very active in the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic charity organization. She is passionate about the benefits of higher education and is looking forward to contributing to the ongoing excellence of the OU graduate programs!