Mary Lou Quinlan

Biography: Dubbed "the Oprah" of marketing by The Wall Street Journal, Mary Lou Quinlan is one of the most accomplished women in the marketing and communications industry. She is a renowned consumer strategist and the founder and CEO of Just Ask a Woman, a branding agency she founded in 1999, now the premier women's marketing company in the U.S. Her incredibly innovative and successful 'Talk-TV' research technique has transformed the way companies conduct market research -- by using high-energy, talk show-like environments where women aren't made to feel like guinea pigs. Quinlan's cutting edge-approach brings fun to the process and has produced remarkable and inspired results. In the last several years she has advised numerous big players in the consumer and retail industries, such as Clairol, Kellogg's Special K, Tums, Estee Lauder, Wal-Mart, Bloomingdales, KFC, Johnson & Johnson and Yahoo!.

Quinlan is also a successful author: Her bestselling marketing book, Just Ask a Woman: Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How They Buy, is considered ground-breaking within the industry. And the newly released Time Off for Good Behavior: How Hardworking Women Can Take a Break and Change Their Lives, has recently been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, PEOPLE, and on The CBS Early Show. She is a highly sought-after public speaker and a monthly columnist for MORE Magazine.

Quinlan was formerly CEO of NW Ayer, a major branding/advertising agency, where she worked with clients including Procter & Gamble, General Motors and Continental Airlines. She has also held management positions such as director of Advertising at Avon, PR director for her alma mater, Saint Josephs' University, and she is a member of the board of directors of 1-800-FLOWERS.com.

Quinlan lives in New York City with her husband, Joe, and hails from Philadelphia, PA. … Expand