Former Synovate man Raben appointed Esomar director general

He joins the industry association from Synovate, where he was CEO for Southern Europe. He replaces Véronique Jeannin, who left the position “by mutual consent” earlier this year.

Raben (pictured) began his career with Millward Brown IMS in Ireland before joining AC Nielsen and then moving on to TNS, where he headed the firm’s Irish operations.

At Synovate he was responsible for integrating and harmonising acquired companies in the Southern Europe region.

Esomar president Gunilla Broadbent said: “Finn has a wealth of experience in research, managing global client relationships and running businesses. He is a market researcher, strategist, pragmatist and linguist with a highly international outlook and I know his impressive combination of skills and experience will have a positive impact on us all at Esomar.”

Raben, who speaks four languages, will be based at Esomar’s Amsterdam headquarters. At Synovate, Northern Europe CEO Peter Huijboom has taken on additional responsibility for Southern Europe and has been given the new title of CEO for Western Europe.