Reed Cundiff takes CEO role at Schlesinger

Cundiff (pictured) left Kantar in 2021 after two years as chief executive for the Americas and prior to that ran Microsoft’s customer and market research team. He takes up the chief executive role at Schlesinger Group with immediate effect.

Steve Schlesinger has been chief executive at the data and research technology business for over 30 years, taking over the role from his mother Sarah Schlesinger, who founded Schlesinger Group in 1966. He will now take up the role of executive chairman on the board of directors.

Cundiff said: “I am incredibly excited to join Schlesinger Group and am eager to build on the strong business foundation and reputation that Steve and the team have built. I believe that our people, portfolio, and industry position allow us to show the world what a digitally transformed 21st-century research team can do.”

Schlesinger said: “I have the utmost confidence in Reed’s proven industry leadership experience, and I am delighted to announce him as our new chief executive. He has impressed the board with his business acumen, razor-sharp commercial focus, and strong client-centric mindset. 

“Leading this company has been the honour and privilege of a lifetime. My decision to step aside as chief executive was not easy, but I am delighted to continue to help oversee the business as executive chairman and help Reed and our team write our next chapter. Now is the right time for this transition, as the company is delivering strong performance and is well positioned for continued transformation and success.”

In other changes, chief strategy officer Isaac Rogers has been appointed as president, a role previously held by Mike Sullivan. Rogers joined Schlesinger Group through its acquisition of 20|20 Research two years ago. Sullivan, meanwhile, will remain as a board adviser to the group and shareholders. 

In addition to 20|20 Research, Schlesinger has acquired several businesses in the insights sector in the past few years, including Canadian programmatic sample company Opinion Capital and Australian digital qual platform Telmy.