Ex-JD Power researchers rev-up new automotive research offer

The new business has already bagged a contract from an undisclosed “major global automotive manufacturer” to run an ongoing tracking programme.

Barnes said: “We are delighted to take on the design and management of this exciting programme. It is another demonstration that the severely wounded auto sector continues to see the essential value of market and consumer intelligence in such tough times.”

At JD Power & Associates, Barnes was European automotive director while business partner Brown was latterly EMEA operations director, having previously been a senior research project manager.

Brown has also spent more than a decade in various roles within TNS, while Barnes’s career includes stints in marketing for British Airways and in brand development at Nissan Motors.