Massaro was previously in charge of both the Spanish and Italian operations of IRI, but will now concentrate solely on the development of the Italian business.

Former Coca-Cola marketer Massanas joined IRI in 1999 as a member of the Spanish start-up team. Since then she has held various positions in client service, product marketing and communications.

In 2007 she was named IRI’s marketing director for Southern Europe and took on responsibility for the whole Euro region a short while after.

Nigel Howlett (pictured), president of IRI International, said: “Eva will play a vital role in driving the transformational development of IRI Spain. This promotion also enables Angelo to drive our next phase of development in Italy.”

Meanwhile, in IRI’s home market of the US, the company has announced a new executive leadership for its Hendry (IRI) Market Structure practice, formed following the acquisition of modelling and simulation software specialists The Hendry Corporation last year.

Bob Hiarides joins the practice as executive vice president and general manager from Kantar-owned shopper and retail research specialists Cannondale Associates, while NuVista Strategies’ Mike Duffy takes up the role of vice president of client engagements.

Finally Srinivas Kowta has been hired as vice president of analytic modelling to support the Hendry (IRI) Market Structure business. He comes to the firm from GfK Healthcare, where he was associate vice president for marketing sciences.