Hearn (pictured top), who joined the GfK group with its acquisition of his company Dmrkynetec, heads a global leadership board consisting of Peter Eichhorn and Gerald Mueller in Germany, Barry Zimmerman, Maureen McLaughlin and Jim Callandrillo in the US, and Chris Krattiger in Switzerland.

Richard Vanderveer (also pictured), who previously led the US healthcare business as CEO, has moved to a strategic consulting role within the new global structure, while Daniel Fitzgerald, his CFO, is set to retire.

Globally, GfK Healthcare employs 600 staff in 40 locations. Hearn said in a letter to clients: “Under a more closely aligned global senior leadership structure and as a single global brand, GfK Healthcare will be well positioned to draw from its country-level operations the most innovative tools and proprietary research methodologies and leverage them on a worldwide basis.”