Williams is a 20-year veteran of the industry with a career spanning clientside roles at British Gas and Eastern Electricity and stints on the agency-side with NOP, Gallup and RSGB/TNS.

He setup M-Lab in 2004 with business partner Louisa Livingston and sold the firm on to Munro Global in 2007. Livingston left the company a year after the acquisition to become director of global consumer insight at EMI Music, while Williams stayed with Munro as a director until recently.

At BDRC Continental he will “complement existing specialists in media and branding research,” the company said, while introducing a new area of expertise in research for intellectual property litigation.

“Graham was looking for a new challenge and we are delighted that he has chosen to do so with us,” said BDRC Continental CEO Cris Tarrant.

Munro has not directly replaced Williams, but M-Lab colleagues Debbie Wills and Sam Carter remain with the business, which trades as part of FDS International, alongside strategic consultancy 3000ft.