McAuley (pictured) joined the wider business earlier this year as managing director of Thamma Al-Masar, Yonder’s Saudi-based sister company.

As chief executive, based in London, McAuley will lead Yonder’s next phase of development.

Michael Simmonds, co-founder, Yonder, said: “I have been impressed by how deeply Ross understands and values the critical role that insight plays in shaping strategy as well as the depth of his knowledge of strategic change.

“His experience, commercial acumen and values-led ethos make him the ideal person to lead the talented, and intelligent team that makes Yonder such a special place to work."

Alongside these changes, Yonder managing partner Tom Wormald is leaving the business. Wormald has been with the company for six years, latterly as lead of its insight business and client relationships.

Simmonds co-founded Populus in 2003, and in 2020 the business merged with Decidedly and BrandCap to form Yonder. He has been chief executive of the business since 2024.

Simmonds said: “It is over 25 years since Andrew Cooper and I left roles with the Conservative Party to start what became Populus and then Yonder. We were convinced then that the forensic techniques used by political parties to understand public opinion could help businesses understand the people who mattered to them. Research has changed enormously, from telephone to online and now to AI and synthetic data, but the central task remains the same: helping clients make better decisions.”