Hi there! I’m Gilian Ponte, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Research: My research focuses on marketing analytics and privacy, with a particular interest in differential privacy, econometrics, and machine learning. I explore how to balance data privacy with the ability to derive meaningful insights—both for academic theory and practical applications.

One of my recent papers was a Best Paper Award finalist at the International Journal of Research in Marketing (2024), and my PhD dissertation was recognized with the EMAC Doctoral Dissertation Award. My work has also been featured in the IJRM Newsletter: “Finding Privacy in a Crowd: The ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Effect in Marketing Analytics”. I’m currently developing methods to quantify and manage privacy risks in experimental and modeling contexts, supported by grants from Google and other partners.

Academic Background: I earned my PhD in Differential Privacy & Marketing Analytics at the University of Groningen, under the supervision of Prof. Jaap Wieringa and Dr. Tom Boot. During my PhD, I held a visiting research position at WU Vienna with Prof. Thomas Reutterer.

Before academia, I worked as a web analyst at Blokker Holding, a major Dutch retailer, where I focused on analytics implementation and company-wide insight generation.

Teaching: My teaching takes a humanistic approach: fostering critical thinking, intrinsic motivation, and a sense of ethical responsibility in working with data. In 2025, I was honored to be nominated for Professor of the Year at RSM. I currently teach courses on marketing analytics and research methods at both the undergraduate and master’s levels.

Public Policy: Beyond academia, I actively contribute to privacy-related policymaking in the Netherlands. I’ve collaborated with agencies such as UWV, DUO, TNO, CBS, and the Ministry of Justice and Security. If you’re working in policy and exploring data protection, feel free to get in touch.

Outside of Work: Outside of research and teaching, I enjoy music, race cycling, philosophy, reading, and good food—and luckily, the cycling helps balance out the food. That list also explains why this website isn’t always up to date.