Marilyn Mitchell has joined Hispanic Market Connections, Inc., Los Altos, Calif., as vice president. Previously she was a corporate manager at Nissan North America and a project director at Geneva Companies.

Jennifer Simmons has been promoted to vice president and director of research and strategic planning for Laughlin/Constable Advertising and Public Relations, Milwaukee. She succeeds Norman E. Ross, who has retired. Simmons joined L/C in 1991 as a research supervisor and was later promoted to senior research supervisor.

Scott Biegel has joined the staff of Ask Southern California Inc., Garden Grove, Calif., as satellite TV project director responsible for on-line television program and commercial testing, along with court TV simulated jury panels.

Sylvia Yeager has been added to the staff of directors at Consumer Pulse of Baltimore. Tony Scares has joined Consumer Pulse of Denver as director of Denver mall, field and focus group facilities. Consumer Pulse Inc. 's corporate office is in Birmingham, Mien.

Peter Schmitz has been named sales manager in the Chicago office of the Polk Direct Group, a division of R.L. Polk & Co., Detroit. In his new position, Schmitz is responsible for all direct marketing sales activity for the membership/travel and entertainment industry markets.

Jisoon Barton has been made a vice president in Market Facts Inc.'s Arlington Heights, Ill., office - the company's headquarters - while Virginia Weil has been promoted to vice president in the company's New York City office. Barton formerly held the position of information center manager. Weil was an account group manager in the packaged goods area.

Andrew Rutman has joined Pragmatic Research Inc., St. Louis. Rutman will manage the company's marketing research and analytical services. He will also be responsible for information services and is expected to help expand the research models currently employed by Pragmatic Research.

Lisa Herwers has been promoted to senior account executive at Minnesota Survey Research, a division of Meyer Associates Inc., St. Cloud, Minn. She is responsible for the design and implementation of telephone research studies. Sheila De Vine has joined the firm as director of national sales and is responsible for new business development.

Citing the need to recover from a health problem, Magid Abraham has stepped down as president and chief operating officer of Information Resources Inc., Chicago. Abraham will continue with the company as a director and vice chairman. He will focus his efforts on IRI's applications development and data processing reengineering efforts, and on accelerating the returns from these investments in new technology. James G. Andress, vice chairman and co-chief executive officer, replaces Abraham as president and COO. Andress will continue to share CEO duties with Gian Fulgoni, IRI's chairman, who will focus his efforts on the company's long-term strategic plans, with particular emphasis on the expansion of its international information businesses. Reporting to Andress will be Thomas Walker, president, Finance and Administration Division; Jeffrey Stamen, president, IRI Software; George Garrick, president and CEO, IRI North America; and Randall Smith, president, International Operations. In addition, Walker and Stamen have been elected to IRI's board of directors. Further, Walker has been promoted to executive vice president of the corporation and is a member of corporate executive committee.

Gene Grasso, Andrea P. Hochman and Steve F. Simon have been appointed to new positions at Capstone Research Inc., Lyndhurst, N.J. Grasso has assumed the role of executive vice president, while Hochman and Simon both have become vice presidents.

Joe Antognazzi has relocated to become the assistant manager at Friedman Marketing Organization's Northgate Mall facility in San Rafael, Calif. He worked previously at the company's Tallahassee, Fla., offices.