Born on 21st December 1933, Sir Robert grew up in Kansas City. After graduating from the University of Kansas, he worked at McKinsey & Company before becoming chief financial officer at Opinion Research Corporation (ORC).

He later moved to the UK and founded Market and Opinion Research International (MORI) in 1969.

The company conducted political polling and worked with blue-chip companies in areas including corporate reputation and customer satisfaction research.

MORI was sold to Ipsos in 2005.

Sir Robert was an ambassador for the polling industry and was a past president of the World Association for Public Opinion Research, a patron of the Market Research Society and a founding patron of the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR).

In 2005, he was knighted for “outstanding services rendered to political, social and economic research and for contribution to government policy and programmes”.

In a statement published by Ipsos, founder and chairman Didier Truchot said: “Bob was a pioneering force in the world of market research and political polling. His forward-thinking approach and unwavering commitment to quality and integrity in the industry have left an indelible mark. We are honoured to have built upon his legacy at Ipsos. His passionate advocacy for the role of research in societal progression will continue to inspire. He will be profoundly missed, but his contributions will always serve as a guiding light for the market research community. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

Jane Frost, chief executive at MRS, said: “A towering figure in research, Sir Bob Worcester was one of the cornerstone architects of our sector. He always supported the MRS Excellence Awards programme and the MRBA. I always enjoyed his anecdotes of the historic great people he met during his career and always had to be prepared to accept a challenge from him.”

• An interview with Sir Robert, published as part of the Research Network’s oral history project in 2015, can be accessed on the AMSR website.