Speed (pictured) joins Survation following senior roles as joint managing director at IFF Research and founder at xSpeediency.

In his new role, Speed will work closely with Survation’s founder and chief executive, Damian Lyons Lowe, to build on the agency’s operations across the public and third sectors, with Survation having delivered qualitative and quantitative research for government, local authorities, charities and regulators.

Speed’s appointment is part of a wider strategic expansion of Survation’s work in the public and third sectors, with the agency planning additional hires in this area in the coming months to support growing demand and further strengthen its offer to public sector and not-for-profit clients.

Damian Lyons Lowe, chief executive at Survation, said: “Survation’s research for clients in government and the not-for-profit sector has long been a core part of our work, alongside our polling.

“We’ve been looking to bring in someone with a strong track record of public sector engagement, business development, and marketing leadership. Mark’s background at IFF and xSpeediency makes him ideally placed to help take our work to the next level.”

Speed added: “While Survation is rightly known for its election work, its breadth of experience in public and social research is equally impressive.

“I’m excited to join a team with deep expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods, and to help scale that impact across more organisations tackling complex social and policy challenges.”