DeRobertis (pictured) will help guide the company’s strategic growth, strengthen client partnerships and scale the company’s initiatives in his new role.

At Savanta, part of communications group Next 15, DeRobertis was chief executive for the Americas from February 2019 until August 2025, and was interim global chief executive for a year between July 2024 and June 2025.

Other prior roles include a 10 year spell at Research Now, and as chief strategy officer between 2017 and 2019 at MIG Global, before it was renamed as Savanta.

A primary focus will be helping to launch Verb AI, a behavioural AI platform that allows panellists who have downloaded the Verb tracker to share information from their device with the company.

The tracker than structures the data and makes the information searchable for their clients, with panellists compensated for their data.

Generation Lab is a data intelligence firm based in Washington DC that helps understand young people through data gathering technology and nationally representative surveys.

DeRobertis said he was excited to help expand Generation Lab’s research and AI “and ensure our partners get the clearest possible picture of the next generation”.