Swayable CEO Appointed to Advertising Research Foundation Board of Trustees

Swayable CEO James Slezak joins the ARF's distinguished body of industry leaders shaping the future of advertising and marketing research.

NEW YORK, March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Swayable, the causal AI platform used by the world's top brands to measure the impact of their messaging, today announced that CEO Dr. James Slezak has been appointed to the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) Board of Trustees for 2026.

The ARF, founded in 1936, is the standard-bearer for unbiased research on the impact of media, marketing, and advertising. It counts among its membership more than 400 of the nation's top advertisers, agencies, research firms, media companies, educational institutions, and international organizations. Trustees play a key role in guiding the ARF's mission to further, through research, the scientific practice of advertising and marketing. As a trustee for 2026, Slezak joins industry peers from organizations including McCann, PepsiCo, Ipsos, IAB, Paramount, and Microsoft.

"I'm honored to join the ARF Board of Trustees alongside so many distinguished leaders from across our industry," said Slezak. "The ARF's commitment to rigorous, evidence-based research is deeply aligned with Swayable's own mission to measure the impact of the world's most important messages. I look forward to contributing to the ARF's vital work and to the conversations that will help the marketing industry make smarter, more impactful decisions."

Slezak's appointment reflects Swayable's growing influence in the marketing measurement landscape. The creative pre-testing platform has developed patented technology that uses randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and advanced machine learning to deliver Swayable Impact Scores—recognized by an increasing roster of major brands as the gold standard evidence of creative impact, that is, lift caused in consumer attitudes. Major brands, including Amazon, Airbnb, T-Mobile, DoorDash, and Paramount use Swayable to deploy creative tests.

About James Slezak

Dr. James Slezak is the Founder and CEO of Swayable, the creative pre-testing platform headquartered in New York and California. He co-founded Swayable in 2018, applying his background as a physics PhD from Cornell University to the challenge of measuring how content changes minds.

Prior to founding Swayable, Slezak was a member of the senior management team at The New York Times, serving as Executive Director of Strategy for Digital Product and Technology and as Vice President and Chief of Operations of NYT Global. He was also a founding partner at Purpose, the New York-based social-change agency, and began his career as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Originally from Australia, Slezak earned his PhD in experimental physics at Cornell University, where he published discoveries in Science, Nature, and other leading journals, while also studying economics under Kaushik Basu, later Chief Economist of the World Bank.

Slezak is an affiliate of Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and Princeton's Kahneman Center for Behavioral Science and Public Policy. He serves as a council member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Information Integrity (2025–2027 term) and as a guest instructor at MIT's Sloan School of Management. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

About the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF)

Since 1936, the Advertising Research Foundation has served as the standard-bearer for unbiased research on the impact of media, marketing, and advertising. Comprising more than 400 of the nation's top advertisers, agencies, research firms, media companies, educational institutions, and international organizations, the ARF is dedicated to furthering the scientific practice of advertising and marketing through rigorous, objective research.

For more information, visit thearf.org.

About Swayable

Swayable is the causal AI platform used by the world's leading marketing and advocacy organizations to measure the impact of their content and messaging. Founded in 2018 by Dr. James Slezak, the company deploys patented randomized controlled trial (RCT) technology and proprietary machine learning to deliver Swayable Impact Scores—rapid, scientifically rigorous evidence of how content changes consumer attitudes. Swayable counts Amazon, Airbnb, T-Mobile, DoorDash, and Paramount among its customers.

For more information, visit swayable.com.

SOURCE Swayable