Richardson, who specialises in pharmaceutical research, worked at GSK from 1999 to 2001. She was UK MD of Brand Health International between 2001 and 2007, before setting up her own business, ClarityMR. She reports to Mary Assimakopoulos, founding director and US lead.

In her new role she will work in both the quantitative and qualitative teams in Philadelphia. She is The Research Partnership’s 18th director and the 15-year-old company now employs over 70 researchers.