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Dave Cameron
Verified Expert in Management Consulting
Management Consulting Expert
Palatine, IL, United States
Toptal member since April 2, 2025
Bio
Dave is an experienced data science and predictive analytics leader who consults in the corporate and startup spaces. As a forward-thinking executive, he has built and led global and domestic teams on analytics thought leadership, statistical and product innovation, data-driven performance marketing, and attribution modeling for consumer acquisition, retention, and profit. Dave takes a strategic and pragmatic approach to solving challenging data problems.
Career Highlights
Owner
Cameron Consulting
Instructor
The University of Chicago
Global Vice President
NielsenIQ
Education Highlights
Master's Degree
The Ohio State University
Case Studies
Nielsen Personalizes the Mobile Shopping App
Predictive Analytics
Segmenting Offers on Connected TV
Revenue Growth
Retargeting Using Direct Mail
Revenue GrowthCustomer Segmentation
Expertise
- Client Presentations
- Customer Segmentation
- Education
- Predictive Analytics
- Revenue Growth
- Statistics
- Teaching
- Team Building
Work Experience
Adjunct Faculty
2023 - PRESENT
Benedictine University
- Led curriculum development for the M.S. in Business Analytics.
- Taught over a dozen courses in the M.S. in Business Analytics.
- Considered a top adjunct with praise from the provost.
Focus areas: Analytics, Customer Segmentation, Computer Science
Owner
2017 - PRESENT
Cameron Consulting
- Designed consumer panels for three companies to help them better understand their customer base. Leveraged the panel in each case to build a consumer segmentation for optimal communication for marketing and advertising.
- Drove the design of predictive models to predict who will most likely purchase their product and how much they will spend based on internal data combined with 3rd-party data. Averaged a 20% improvement over previous practices.
- Led predictive retargeting via direct mail for prospects who visit a website but don't buy the product. Devised an algorithm that uses web activity to decide who should get a direct mail follow-up. The algorithm is in operation with 800+ clients.
- Trained several new predictive modelers and data scientists at several small companies with insufficient expertise internally.
Focus areas: Predictive Analytics, Customer Segmentation, Client Presentations, Excel 365, Power Query, Revenue Growth, Data Science, Data Strategy, Predictive Modeling, TV advertising, Advertising, Leadership, Marketing Strategy
Instructor
2021 - 2026
The University of Chicago
- Taught professionals—from practitioners to senior management—taking courses in predictive analytics and web analytics from UChicago.
- Received excellent reviews from students on the applicability of my teaching to real-world scenarios.
- Guided new teachers to become successful in their educational efforts.
Focus areas: Education, Teaching, Predictive Analytics, Analytics, Web Analytics, Client Presentations, Data Strategy, University Teaching
Global Vice President
2005 - 2017
NielsenIQ
- Provided oversight and leadership to a team of data analysts, advancing analytics to drive marketing strategy across all channels.
- Oversaw test design development, forward-looking learning agendas, the measurement framework, consumer insights, and predictive analytics.
- Drove the conversion from SAS to open source (Python or R) among 600 associates. Spearheaded global tracking across the data science function and gathered the data and analytics needed to drive acquisition growth and program effectiveness.
- Managed a 24-person global analytical team to build solutions, enabling businesses to uncover comprehensive insights about consumer behaviors, shopping patterns, and media preferences on existing customers and prospects.
- Led a team within Nielsen's Statistical Center of Innovation, communicating the business value for new statistical and computational methodologies and supporting new product development across its global business portfolio.
- Steered the statistical methodology and measurement of all retail measurement services across Nielsen's consumer business. Built a team of highly skilled professionals with varied expertise in several fields.
Focus areas: Data Science, Predictive Analytics, Customer Segmentation, Team Building, Team Management, Computer Science, Python, Leadership, Advertising, Predictive Modeling, Data Strategy, Analytics, Revenue Growth, Client Presentations, Teaching
Senior Director, Data Solutions
2000 - 2004
Merkle
- Managed statistical modeling of attributes for consumer acquisition, retention, and profit maximization across over 30 different clients.
- Built a team from 2 to 14 people, looking for complementary talents to maximize business growth.
- Presided over a team with a ten-fold increase in revenue in just under five years.
- Developed external demographic and lifestyle information for consumer segmentation and its application in consumer tracking and selection.
Focus areas: Customer Segmentation, Client Presentations, Predictive Modeling, Team Building, Team Management, Analytics, Predictive Analytics, Advertising, Data Strategy
Education
1985 - 1987
Master's Degree in Applied Statistics
The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH, USA
Skills
Other
Predictive Analytics, Customer Segmentation, Client Presentations, Teaching, Team Building, Team Management, Education, Analytics, Predictive Modeling, University Teaching, Excel 365, Python, Power Query, Computer Science, Statistics, Data Science, Revenue Growth, Presentations, Leadership, Marketing Strategy, Web Analytics, Data Strategy, TV advertising, Advertising
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