He joins from computer games publisher Sega where he held a number of US roles including SVP of publishing and content, VP of business development. director of research and analytics and senior research analyst. Over the course of his career he has also worked as market research manager for furniture retailer DFS Group and was an account manager at McCann-Erickson Hakuhodo.

At Ipsos, his experience with Sega means that he will be in charge of the firm’s video games research offering.

Eric Villain, president of the media and technology group at Ipsos OTX MediaCT, said: “Rob Lightner has a deep understanding of the research needs and challenges faced by our media and technology clients. His experience and insights into the massive and growing video gaming business, and the digital world in general, will no doubt be invaluable to our clients.”