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David F. Poltrack

David F. Poltrack is Chief Research Officer, CBS Corporation and President of CBS VISION.  Poltrack oversees all research operations at CBS encompassing audience measurement, market research, program testing, advertising research, and monitoring of the national and international video marketplace.  He also designed and oversees TELEVISION CITY at the MGM GRAND, Las Vegas, the state of the art Research Center providing ongoing consumer feedback concerning all programming and new entertainment technologies.  CBS VISION is a new research unit designed to explore and offer insight on emerging technologies, media consumption patterns, and advertising value in the media marketplace.

He joined CBS in 1969 as Manager, Marketing Services, CBS Television Stations, National Sales.  After holding various positions with CBS Television Stations, in 1979 Poltrack was named Vice President, Marketing Services for the CBS Television Network.  In 1982, he was named Vice President, Research, CBS/Broadcast Group, and in 1988, he was appointed Senior Vice President, Planning and Research, CBS/Broadcast Group.  He was promoted to Executive Vice President, Research and Planning, CBS Television in 1994.

Poltrack is past chairman of the Media Rating Council (MRC), a trustee and a member of the executive committee of the Marketing Science Institute, past president of the Market Research Council, vice president of the Advertising Research Council, and a member of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences.  He is past chairman of the Advertising Research Foundation, and a former member of the board of the International Radio and Television Foundation (IRTF).

He is winner of the Hugh Malcolm Beville, Jr. Award presented by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Broadcast Education Association in recognition of those who have made significant contributions to the design, use, or understanding of broadcast audience research.

As Adjunct Professor at New York University, he teaches courses on the graduate level at both the NYU Stern School of Business and the Steinhardt School of Education.  He also teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and is a visiting professor at Cheung Dong Graduate School of Business, Beijing, China.

He is author of Television Marketing:  Network, Local, and Cable (McGraw-Hill).  His articles are published in professional journals including the Journal of Advertising Research, the Journal of Psychology and Marketing, and the European Broadcasting Union Review.

He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A., magna cum laude, History) and New York University (M.B.A., Marketing).