Screene (pictured) joins the company from Savanta, where she was research director.

Prior to that, she spent over 16 years with Future Thinking (previously The Oxford Research Agency) and has held roles at Nielsen and GfK.

Jamie Rayner, managing director, Shoppercentric, said: “With two decades of research experience and a proven ability to innovate, Marie’s research acumen is second to none. This build in our team’s strength and depth helps us deliver definitive outcomes for our clients.”

Tim Baker, chairman, Touchstone Shoppercentric, said the appointment would help the company to “fuse existing skillsets” and apply its “research tools around conscious and pre-conscious decision making”.

Based in Oxfordshire, Touchstone offers research in various business-to-business and consumer sectors. The company acquired shopper research business Shoppercentric in 2018.