In Memoriam…
Pollster, columnist and public opinion analyst Louis Harris died on Dec. 17 in Key West, Fla., at the age of 95. Harris founded Louis Harris & Associates, which carried out market research for Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines and the New York Stock Exchange, in 1956. The company was sold to investment firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in 1969 and to Gannett in 1975, though Harris continued as chief executive until his retirement in 1992. A merger of Louis Harris & Associates and the Gordon S. Black Corporation in 1996 produced Harris Interactive, based in New York. Nielsen acquired Harris Interactive in 2014.
Carlos Harding, deputy CEO of Ipsos, died on Dec. 9 in Paris. Harding was also an LT Participations board member, an Ipsos Partners shareholder and a member of the Ipsos management board. Harding joined Ipsos in 1991 as international manager, in charge of developing and strengthening the company’s international network, and in 1993 was given responsibility for the company’s corporate development. He became chairman of Ipsos in Latin America in 1998.
Wyndy Greene Smelser, senior vice president of the Life Sciences practice for behavioral sciences consulting firm CMI, died on Dec. 17 due to complications from heart surgery.
Researcher Cint, headquartered in Stockholm, has appointed Kevin Gianatiempo as senior vice president of strategic partnerships and alliances. He will be based at the firm’s San Francisco office, which launched in September.
Cross-device marketing technology firm Tapad, New York, has appointed Igor Elbert as vice president of data science.
Philadelphia research data collection services firm Focus Pointe Global has appointed Pam Maltby as chief business development officer.
Boston-based research and branding agency Protobrand has appointed Peter Costa as VP of client services.
In London, researcher Lightspeed has made eight promotions across its EMEA operations, including Derek Gibson, who will become director operations, France and United Kingdom. Additionally, Michael Werner has been promoted to client operations manager, Netherlands, while Margreet Sasburg, Björn Ludwig and Andreas Hagn have been promoted to team leader, MRA. Mariana Monroy and Alban Zinsou have been promoted to team leader, enterprise, and Marcus Chen has been promoted to senior research manager, Lightspeed All Global.
Unisys, a Blue Bell, Pa., information technology company, has appointed Ann Sung Ruckstuhl as senior vice president and CMO.
Magid Abraham, co-founder of Reston, Va., firm comScore, has resigned from the firm’s board of directors due to other engagements.
Sheena Bacon has been named vice president of operations for Nashville, Tenn., company 20|20 Research.
U.K. consumer insight agency Join the Dots has added six graduates to the dotAcademy, its in-house training and coaching center. The firm adds new graduates to its team each year who initially join the Graduate Training Programme for six months of training and are then promoted into the company’s research teams.
Atlanta-based customer solutions firm SeeLevel HX has appointed Donna Goodwin as senior project director.
Harpeth Marketing, Franklin, Tenn., has appointed Whitney Duprey as marketing account manager.
In Jupiter, Fla., Morgan Investors, the holding company for research companies Quick Test/Heakin, Discovery Research Group and 3Q Global, has reported a reorganization affecting all three entities, with changes made to personnel. Lori Weingarten has been appointed as executive vice president of Morgan Investors, overseeing sales and operations for 3Q Global and Discovery Research Group. Stepping into Weingarten’s former SVP role at Quick Test/Heakin are Christy Crossan, vice president, client services, and Tracey Seitz, vice president, operations. Scott Sherman has been appointed as VP, controller at Quick Test/Heakin and Adam Breidenbaugh as VP, information technology. Robert Higginson, VP of business development, has made a move from Discovery Research Group to 3Q Global, where he will help facilitate new sales for both companies. Chauncy Bjork, former VP/GM at Discovery Research Group, has been appointed as VP of information technology and analytics at Discovery Research Group.
Simmons Research, New York, has appointed Steve Dennen as vice president and head of partnerships.
Auburn Hills, Mich., researcher Gongos Inc. has appointed Jason Muxlow as vice president, technology.
In Dubai, UAE, researcher Toluna has appointed the following: Abboudy Gogo as client service team manager; Rania Ayoub as client service manager; and Sakina Mannan as account manager.
Marketing agency Merkle, Columbia, Md., has appointed Ankur Jain as vice president, analytic platforms.
Marek Lipinski has joined Circle Research, London, as client manager.
Anders Bengtsson, CEO of Boston-based research and branding consultancy Protobrand, has acquired majority share in the company after completing a buyout of Phil Granof, the firm’s former co-founder and chairman. Additionally, the firm has added new investors and has appointed a new management team: Pal Marton Afzelius, VP of client services, will be entering his third year at Protobrand, while Irina Zilberman, research director, will continue to grow and manage the broader research team. Hongyu Zhou, technology director, will lead software development and Annika Henricsson, VP of client services, will increase the European client base.
Reston, Va., customer experience management solutions firm Clarabridge Inc. has appointed Mark Bishof as CEO. Current Clarabridge CEO Yuchun Lee will reassume his previous role as executive chairman of the board.
Adam Buccafusco and Sarah Knapp have joined Durham, N.C., research firm W5 as practice consultants.
Nashville, Tenn., e-mail marketing software and services company Emma has hired Ethan Zoubek as chief revenue officer and Wellford Dillard as chief financial officer.
Rob Stone, CEO of research consultancy Market Strategies International, Detroit, will be leaving the company to pursue other interests. Current Chairman Andy Morrison, who founded the company, will assume the role of CEO. Morrison will advise the company’s executive committee, which includes Melissa Sauter, president; Katy Palmer, chief solutions officer and managing director, health; Todd Mundorf, COO; and Phil Giroux, CFO.
In New York, researcher Lightspeed has appointed John Mazzola as global panel manager, Lightspeed All Global.
Chicago-based market intelligence solutions firm Market Track has appointed Lisa Lanier as its new chief client officer.
In New York, health care insights firm Treato has added Allen Kamer to its board of directors.
Santa Monica, Calif., customer experience firm RED Interactive Agency has hired Max Miner as director of customer experience strategy.
Doug Shepard, executive vice president and CFO for San Antonio-based marketing services firm Harte Hanks, resigned from the company, effective Dec. 31, to pursue another professional opportunity. Robert Munden, the company’s EVP and general counsel, will serve as interim CFO while the company searches for a replacement and Scott Hamilton will coordinate the company’s investor relations program.
New York-based technology company Foursquare has hired Gayle Fuguitt as chief of customer insights and innovation.
Research technology and services firm Dialsmith, Portland, Ore., has promoted Clinton Godeke and Greg Treat to senior manager, projects and client services. In addition, Brian Izenson has been promoted to senior manager, marketing and business development.
Data and business intelligence firm Strategic Insight, New York, has appointed Karl Jaeger as CFO.
Business intelligence firm ORC International has appointed Tom Markert as CEO and global product development lead. Markert will be based out of the company’s New York office.
Boston-based market intelligence firm InCrowd has appointed Matthew Polletta as executive vice president of sales.
Media agency MEC, New York, has named Karima Zmerli as managing partner, head of analytics and insight.
Text analytics software-as-a-service firm OdinText Inc. has added Tim Lynch as vice president and Andrew Vogel as data scientist.