Rick Watrall

In his role as Chief Analytics Officer, Rick Watrall leads the agency’s advanced marketing analytics team to turn data into actionable information and insights that can both inform and support the agency’s recommendations to clients. He is tasked with leading the agency’s data scientists in designing and recommending the appropriate analytical approach across various client and internal needs. Watrall is additionally charged with building out a new analytics team that works to analyze and interpret data to seek causal relationships and provide value to Horizon and its vast client portfolio as it continues to expand.

Rick focuses on enhancing analytics solutions, inventing new avenues for data creation, transforming the agency’s proprietary data platforms and mining new sources and streams of data. He leads Horizon’s team of analysts, data scientists and statisticians to inform and support the agency’s strategy, channel planning and activation solutions.

Most recently, he was Partner at Hudson River Group where he was responsible for marketing analysis and software applications for strategic and tactical marketing planning as well as ROI optimization. Prior to Hudson River Group, Watrall was a Partner at MarketingNPV where he helped Global 100 companies measure and improve the payback on marketing investments and campaigns through marketing dashboards, budgeting and resource allocation tools.

He has deep experience in a number of verticals including telecom and retail. Previously he served in marketing analytics while at AT&T (client side) and was the lead for marketing and media measurement and optimization for T-Mobile (external consulting). Has worked for over 40 of the Fortune 100 brands primarily in the area of marketing and business analysis, including analytic powerhouses such as Kraft, Coca-Cola, Staples, Amazon and eBay.

Rick lives in New Jersey with his wife and their three daughters. A high-level competitive fencer, he also likes to spend his limited free time pursuing his passion for the outdoors including fly-fishing, cycling and skeet shooting.