MEET OUR PRINCIPALS

TOD JOHNSON

Managing Director

Tod Johnson is the co-founder and managing director of Duo Partners, a New York-based investment and consulting firm.

Tod was the executive chairman of The NPD Group through July 31, 2022, a company he had led since 1971. On August 1, 2022, he became the chair of the board and a consultant after The NPD Group’s acquisition and subsequent merger with IRI, remaining the chair through 2025. The combined global company was rebranded in March 2023 as Circana, a leading technology, analytics, and data provider.

Considered an innovator in his field for more than 50 years, Tod has led many industry initiatives with point-of-sale and consumer data, online data collection, and other market research innovations. He is the lead patentee on the methods patent for in-home scanning. His research expertise is in the areas of brand loyalty and brand equity.

He has been a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, and director of the Advertising Research Foundation and was founding chairman and director of the Council for Marketing and Opinion Research. He was elected to the Market Research Council Hall of Fame in 2011.

Tod is president and chief executive officer of the board of The Metropolitan Opera and a member of the board of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Charm.io, and QualSights. He is chairman of the board of CivicScience, a Pittsburgh-based new data collection technology firm. He is also co-founder, board member, and executive chairman of Tenetic. He was CEO and founder of Media Metrix from 1995 to 2001, and he is a past member of the JPMorgan Chase Regional Advisory Board. He is a former vice chair of the Carnegie Mellon University Board of Trustees, where he has been the longest-serving trustee for the university. He was the second recipient of the university’s Founders Medal.

Tod received undergraduate and graduate business degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, where he also taught in the business school.

KARYN SCHOENBART

Managing Director

Managing Director, CEO, Best-Selling Author, Board Member, Speaker

Karyn Schoenbart is the co-founder and managing director of Duo Partners, a New York-based investment and consulting firm.

Previously, Karyn was the chief executive officer of The NPD Group, one of the largest global providers of information and advisory services. Under her leadership, NPD was named one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York State, earning a reputation as one of the most respected firms in its industry. Karyn played an integral role in the successful August 2022 merger of NPD and IRI, creating Circana, a leading technology, analytics, and data provider.

Passionate about coaching others to greater levels of achievement, Karyn wrote Mom.B.A: Essential Business Advice from One Generation to the Next as a practical guide to everything from effective first impressions and workplace politics to relationship development, skill-building, and achieving balance between work and family. The book is based on the real-life business lessons Karyn amassed during her career.

Karyn has received numerous awards recognizing her outstanding impact as a female business leader. These include the Accessory Council’s HERO Award, the Long Island Brava Award, and the Legacy Award from Women in Consumer Technology. She was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market by the CEO Connection four years consecutively, and she was inducted into the Long Island Business Hall of Fame.

Karyn serves on the Board of Directors of Arpalus, Charm.io, Circana, CivicScience, QualSights, Revuze, Stylitics, Tastewise and Tenetic. Karyn also serves on the advisory boards of these non-profit organizations: Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW), an international organization that informs and connects people in the beauty industry to create and build in bold new ways; The Authors Guild Foundation, which educates, supports, and protects American writers; and The Resolution Project, an organization that develops socially responsible young leaders. Additionally, Karyn is a strategic advisor to Authors Equity, MYAVANA, and ViralMoment.

Karyn is a highly sought-after moderator, panelist, and keynote speaker. These roles allow her to pursue one of her life passions: elevating women throughout their careers. She has curated workshops on a variety of topics to help employers invest in and grow their employees, including developing client relationships, dealing with difficult situations, and overcoming impostor syndrome.