Analyst Bios

Brad Akyuz Director, Connected Intelligence

Brad Akyuz has been serving as a Director for the new Connected Intelligence research practice at the NPD Group since late 2010. He is responsible for the development and production of various quantitative solutions for the Connected Intelligence division, focusing primarily on all products and services encompassing the mobile broadband ecosystem. As an industry analyst, he had previously been sought by major print and online publications including Wall Street Journal, Wireless Week, RCRNews, Forbes.com, Information Week, CMP publications and local papers including San Diego Union Tribune, Atlanta Constitution Journal and Washington Post. Most recently, he was featured as a speaker in RCR Wireless’ webinar titled “The Current State of Mobile Devices”.More…

Ben Arnold
Director, Industry Analysis

Ben Arnold is an industry analyst for The NPD Group, covering consumer electronics with an emphasis on video and audio products. A veteran analyst, he has covered the media and technology industries for over 10 years with an eye on trends in consumer habits and usage. More…

Stephen Baker
Vice President, Industry Analysis

Stephen Baker is NPD’s primary hardware analyst. Baker has been commenting on the technology industry for more than fifteen years. He was ranked as a leading industry analyst by AdWeek’s Technology Marketing. More…

Linda Barrabee Research director for Connected Intelligence

Linda Barrabee is a research director for Connected Intelligence at The NPD Group. She joined the company in January 2011 and is responsible for the development and production of various qualitative and quantitative solutions for Connected Intelligence. Linda primarily focuses on how consumers access and pay for cross-platform content and services, including mobile broadband networks, and the impact of disruption on the content ecosystem.More…

Russ Crupnick
Vice President, Senior Industry Analyst

Russ Crupnick, vice president and senior entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group, works with NPD’s client service team and clients to create best practices that leverage the vast information resources available in these industries. More…

Eddie Hold Vice President, Connected Intelligence, The NPD Group

Eddie Hold is the vice president of The NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence business unit. In this role, Eddie is responsible for managing the overall unit, maintaining the direction, creation and expansion of the content. He also works closely with clients to help shape their strategies within the connected ecosystem as the market adapts to embrace convergent devices and the blurring of home and mobile strategies for device, content, and broadband access.More…

Liz Cutting
Industry Analyst

Liz Cutting is the digital imaging analyst for The NPD Group. With more than sixteen years of marketing and analysis experience, Cutting is NPD lead spokesperson for digital imaging. More…

Anita Frazier
Entertainment Industry Analyst, The NPD Group Toys & Video Games industries

Frazier’s career has spanned the entertainment, entertainment software and consumer products industries, including tenures with Conagra, Warner Brothers Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and just prior to joining NPD, Vivendi Universal Games. More…

Ross Rubin Executive Director, Principal Analyst, Connected Intelligence

Ross Rubin is executive director and principal analyst of The NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence (CI), an advisory service that helps clients capitalize on the confluence of devices, access, and content in the era of the connected consumer. Ross has played a central role in developing CI, defining the its scope and qualitative research deliverables and driving the research agenda for its cross-industry Inflection Reports. More…

Darrel Ryce
Director, Technology & Entertainment

Director, Technology and Entertainment Darrel Ryce of The NPD Group covers the Canadian information technology industry, with an emphasis on PC and printing products. He has covered the technology and video game industries in Canada for over 20 years. More…