The senior team is now made up of Phil Corr as managing director fieldwork services; Mark Barrett as managing director VOC; Sian Kerr (pictured) as managing director consulting; Richard Balls will be chief technology officer; and Claire Spencer will be chief operating officer.

Both Kerr and Balls will sit on the board and Nick Lamb is remaining chairman.

Corr and Barrett were both previously directors at Watermelon. Kerr was research director and head of client services at Facts International before joining Watermelon. Balls, coming into the newly created role of CTO, has 10 years’ research industry experience combined with a background in software development. He set-up Watermelon’s Australian operations. Spencer was finance director at Facts International previously.

Squires was made CEO in October when Chime Insight and Engagement Division (CIE) restructured, bringing Facts International and Opinion Leader under the Watermelon brand.

Squires said: “Put simply, we now have the best people in the top jobs to drive, manage and continue our rapid growth. For all our clients, and a number have already confirmed this, it really is a case of the whole being far greater than the sum of its parts. I am particularly pleased with our appointment of a CTO. This is a new role and will enable us to further expand Watermelon’s technology platform by incorporating recent advances in modular technology and machine learning.”