Dan McCarthy
Daniel McCarthy is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. His research specialty is the application of leading-edge statistical methodology to contemporary empirical marketing problems. His research interests include customer-based corporate valuation, which he popularised, customer lifetime value, limited data problems, data privacy, and the marketing/finance interface. He is also actively researching the causal effect of actions and events on customer purchase behavior. His research has been accepted and published in top-tier academic journals, including Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of Marketing. His work has won numerous research awards, including the Lehmann, MSI Clayton, Gary Lillien Practice Prize, and MSI Young Scholar, and been a finalist for many others, including the Paul Green, Hunt/Maynard, MSI/Root awards. His work has been featured in major media outlets such as the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, FT, Fortune, Barronís, Inc Magazine, the Economist, and CNBC.
In a recent interview with the IVSC, as part of our Professional Insights series, Professor Dan McCarthy of Emory University discusses the evolution of customer lifetime value and its critical impact on corporate valuation. With his background in statistics from the Wharton School and a practical approach shaped by his commercial experience, including founding the predictive analytics firm Zodiac, McCarthy offers a blend of academic insight and real-world application.
The interview covers several pertinent themes in customer lifetime value. McCarthy discusses the complexities of Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) costs, which have risen significantly since the 1990s and pose challenges for investors trying to gauge their effectiveness. He explains the importance of understanding these costs in relation to customer acquisition and overall profitability.
McCarthy also addresses the transferability of customer value insights across different industries. While there are industry-specific patterns, the application of these insights must be tailored to reflect the unique customer dynamics of each sector. His work at Theta, focusing on customer-based corporate valuation, underscores the practical challenges and opportunities in applying these sophisticated statistical methodologies to diverse business environments.
For those interested in a deeper exploration of these topics, the full interview can be downloaded through the link below.