THOMAS (TOM) O’TOOLE
Associate Dean, Executive Education,
Clinical Professor of Marketing,
Kellogg School of Management
Professor O’Toole’s work at Kellogg focuses on connecting data science to business value creation, data-driven marketing, customer strategy, customer value management, loyalty programs and related subjects. He developed and teaches a popular MBA course on Customer Loyalty strategy. He is the author of “Branding Services in the Digital Era,” published in Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World (Wiley, 2019).
O’Toole is a Senior Advisor for McKinsey & Co. For McKinsey, he provides strategic guidance to clients in a wide range of business sectors (e.g., travel, health care, energy, retail) on enterprise data analytics, digital transformation, revenue strategy, customer strategy, loyalty programs and related subjects.
O’Toole was Chief Marketing Officer, Senior Vice President and President, MileagePlus of United Airlines. At United, he was responsible for brand strategy, marketing, product development, ecommerce, digital channels, ancillary revenue, customer data analytics, customer relationship management, marketing systems, partnerships and other functions, including United’s MileagePlus loyalty program. MileagePlus was, at the time, the largest travel loyalty program, and top-rated frequent flyer program, in the world. Before United, O’Toole was Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Information Officer for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, where he was responsible for Hyatt’s marketing, loyalty program, distribution, information technology and related functions worldwide.
O’Toole currently serves on the Board of Directors of four companies: Alliant Energy, an S&P 500 company providing electricity, natural gas, renewable energy and logistics services through its production, distribution, transportation and related businesses; Extended Stay America, the largest integrated hotel owner/operator in North America, with over 600 hotels; LSC Communications, one of the largest providers of printing, publishing logistics, office products and related services in the world; and cxLoyalty, a leading loyalty and customer engagement solutions firm in the USA and Europe. In 2016, he was appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce to, and currently serves on, the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Travel Promotion (dba Brand USA), the nation’s public-private enterprise to promote travel to the USA.
O’Toole is active in civic, charitable, and educational endeavors. He serves on the Boards of the CSU Foundation and Big Shoulders Fund of Chicago.
O'Toole holds the degrees of Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology and Bachelor of Arts with concentration in communication research from Cleveland State University. In 2013, he was named the Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
