Owen (pictured) established the Chicago office of Hall & Partners in 2001, before the company’s sale to Omnicom. In 2011, he founded mobile research business CrowdLab, which was sold to Dynata in 2020, and from 2015 to 2020 he held the role of chief transformation officer at Hall & Partners.

Most recently, he has led his own research tech consultancy, advising agencies and platforms on tech and go-to-market strategies and M&A activity.

In the new role, Owen will work across Firefish Group, helping staff gain confidence with new methods and technologies. 

Jem Fawcus, chief executive, Firefish Group, said: “Firefish was founded on the basis that there are better and more interesting ways to explore life and understand people, and, as the world gets more complicated, culture moves faster, and data sources grow, so have our clients’ need to make sense of it all – in service to their business and brand goals.

“First working with Richard back in 2011, we knew that he shared that vision and so we are delighted to have him in the fold full time, bringing his years of global tech transformation experience and passion for making things better, clearer and easier for all.”