Obituary: Sue Nosworthy

Sue Nosworthy had a long career in international market research, managing major global accounts for several well-known research agencies.

After graduating in 1976 from the University of Bradford with a BA in modern languages, specialising in German and Spanish, she joined the graduate trainee scheme of European Market Research Bureau (EMRB), the international research sister company of British Market Research Bureau. She worked on a wide range of multi-country projects in consumer and industrial markets, including pan-European surveys for Rank Xerox.

By 1982, she had been promoted to associate director and moved to Communication Research Ltd (CRL) to develop and expand its international research activities. There, she worked for clients including British Airways, DeBeers, Avis, Wiggins Teape and United Distillers and in 1985 was promoted to director, responsible for all the company’s overseas business.

In 1987, she returned to EMRB, which by then had become MRB International, as a director and for the following seven years took the lead on major international consumer accounts, including Gillette, British Airways, Amex and Avis. In 1994, she moved to BJM Research & Consultancy to take up the newly created position of director of International Research. The same year, she took on the role of convenor of the MRS Summer School, and became a member of the MRS’s annual conference committee the following year.

In 1997, BJM was acquired by NFO and Sue later became managing director of NFO International. Following the acquisition of NFO by TNS, in 2004 she became a global account director at TNS and global insights director of TNS USA. Her main client was Gillette, now owned by Procter and Gamble, but then a separate company headquartered in Boston Massachusetts. An expert on the global shaving market, Sue moved to New York in 2006 to provide the level of client service this major account merited.

During this time Sue also made a major contribution to Esomar. In 1995 she became the organisation’s UK representative and in 2005 was elected to the role of council member. In 2009, she became Esomar vice-president, a position she held until the end of 2010.

TNS was acquired by Kantar in 2009 and after that, Sue joined US-based neuromarketing research specialist EmSense Corporation in 2010 as senior vice-president, European research director, as it sought to expand into Europe. Later she returned to TNS as a director at TNS Global, bringing her wealth of experience to assist with major accounts including the global BAT account. She continued in this role until the end of 2014.

In retirement, Sue played a major role in establishing the Archive of Market and Social Research. Her last years were blighted by a form of rapid-onset Parkinson’s disease, which she bore with the positivity, determination and good humour that was characteristic of her entire career. She will be very much missed by her family and her many friends from the research profession.

Sue’s funeral took place on Friday 4th September at West London Crematorium.

This article was co-written by friends and ex-colleagues of Sue.