Just three months ago Ormiston was appointed to head up North American operations at Nunwood, but said the position at YouGov was “simply too great an opportunity to pass up”.

She began her research career at NFO Research and has worked at Bases, Angus Reid Group, Research International and GfK, where she spent five years as an executive vice president.

YouGov’s North American CEO Doug Rivers said: “Jane has enormous research industry experience, and we expect her to play a pivotal role in our development.”