Former Nielsen and Publicis execs join Kantar

Morley (pictured, left) worked at Nielsen for 17 years, holding various leadership positions including group managing director, president of Western Europe and president of Nielsen USA.

He will be responsible for developing Worldpanel Plus, Kantar’s smartphone-enabled shopper panel.

Morley succeeds Tim Kidd, who has held the role for over 10 years and is retiring after 27 years with the company.

Boyd (pictured, right), who is former chair of industry group APG, was chief strategy officer at Publicis Poke for two years, before departing in 2019. Prior to that, he spent a decade at adamandeveDDB as group head of strategy.

At Kantar, Boyd will report to Amy Cashman, co-chief executive of the Insights division, and will focus on helping teams combine the company’s knowledge and data to benefit clients.

Both take up their roles with immediate effect.

Bart Michels, UK country leader, Kantar, said: “Chris and Dom join us to take up leadership roles for two of our largest business units, in our second largest Kantar market, the UK. As part of our overall growth plan, they will drive the growth of Worldpanel Plus and Holistic Brand Guidance – two strategically important offers for our clients.”

Earlier this week, Kantar announced its appointment of Ian Griffiths, formerly of ITV, as its chief financial officer. 

Kantar chief executive, Eric Salama, is stepping down from the role this year. WPP recently completed its sale of 60% of the company to private equity firm Bain Capital.