Westerman (pictured) joins the company from Accenture, where he specialised in innovation, working in the unit formed from the acquisitions of Happen and What If!? in 2018.

The hire follows the appointment of Elspeth Edwards as innovation director in January of this year.

The Forge is headquartered in London and focuses on strategic insights and innovation.

Simon Garnett, co-founder at The Forge, said: “Joris will play a key role in, both, growing our innovation practice alongside several senior innovation hires made over the last 18 months, and expanding our European presence through our growing team in Amsterdam.

“Our clients are going to greatly benefit from Joris’s consulting experience gained from a wide-range of different sectors, markets and practices including quantitative insight, brand strategy and innovation.”