Bill Walker  has been named director of research for First Research , Raleigh, N.C.

Forrester Research, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., announced a number of new hires, naming Brad M. Bortner  director, custom research, the Americas; Nigel Fenwick vice president and practice leader, Forrester leadership boards, IT programs, the Americas; Dwight Griesman vice president and practice leader, Forrester leadership boards, marketing programs, the Americas; Dennis Kanemitsu vice president of sales and marketing, Asia Pacific;   Jan Louwes vice president of sales, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; Fiona McDonnell director of marketing, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; David Metcalfe senior vice president of research, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; Mark R. Nemec vice president, Forrester leadership boards, the Americas; Ian Taylor head of Forrester leadership boards, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Paul Warren vice president and practice leader for consulting, the Americas.

Minneapolis research firm Iconoculture has named Jim Riesterer vice president of marketing and Steve von Bevern vice president of research.

Dallas-based Kinesis Survey Technologies  has named Jason Ehler-James senior account executive.

Stamford, Conn., research firm InsightExpress has named Darcy Briggs project manager within the company’s AdInsights group. In addition, Laxmi Viswanath has been promoted to software quality assurance manager.

New York researcher TNS has named Kimberly Till president TNS, North America.

Australia-based research outsourcing firm Pulse has added Jeremy Liew , Zhang Wen Kui , Faye Ng and Rapizi Abdullah to its project management team.

Shannon McGuire  has joined Flake-Wilkerson Market Insights , Little Rock, Ark., as executive vice president, client service. He is based in the firm’s Evergreen, Colo., office. In the Stamford, Conn., office, Paul Donagher has been named senior vice president, client partnerships.

David van Nostrand  has been named senior vice president and chief research officer at New York research firm Focalyst.

London-based comScore Europe  has relocated Piers Stobbs from Chicago to the London office.

Dolly Hightower  has joined Millward Brown USA as vice president of market development, Eastern region. She is based in Boston. In addition, Millward Brown has named Nigel Hollis executive vice president, chief global analyst.

Researcher Synovate  has added four to its technology and telecom practice: Steve Levine as senior vice president and sector head; and Beth Ritchey , Karen Stuth and Holly Edmunds as vice president.

Polaris Marketing Research , Atlanta, has named Toni Holloway  marketing research project manager.

Exercise equipment maker NuStep Inc.,  Ann Arbor, Mich., has named Dipti Jain marketing research analyst.

Denise Conroy-Galley  has been named vice president marketing/ research for the Outdoor Channel , Temecula, Calif.

Eileen Diskin  has been named vice president-marketing for PBS Kids Sprout, Arlington, Va.

Harris Interactive , Rochester, N.Y., has named Richard Goosey  senior vice president, marketing science and methodology. He will be based in London.

Woburn, Mass., site selection firm geoVue has named Rudy Nadilo CEO.

New York research firm Ipsos ASI has promoted Lana Busignani to president, Ipsos ASI North America West, and Pam Maltby to president, Ipsos ASI North America East.

M/A/R/C Research , Irving, Texas, has added Erika Cinicolo and Azure Steele as research analysts. Cinicolo is based in the Irving office and Steele in the Greensboro, N.C., office. The firm also named Fred Van Tatenhove vice president.

Cook Research & Consulting Inc. , Minneapolis, has named Gayle McCoy  vice president.

Geographic information system firm ESRI, Redlands, Calif., has named Simon Thompson commercial business industry solutions manager.

Survey Sampling International  (SSI), Fairfield, Conn., has opened new offices in Europe and named Andrew Moffatt sales director for Europe and Pete Cape knowledge director, both in SSI’s London office. Milan Dolinar has been named managing director in the firm’s Frankfurt, Germany, office.

Chicago-based Information Resources Inc.  has named Stewart Jones executive vice president of global operations. In addition, John Lawlor has been named division president and general manager of the firm’s panel and test solutions business.