NPD Hires and Rehires to Boost Senior Team

In the US, The NPD Group has appointed Tim Bush as Group President of its flat panel specialist subsidiary DisplaySearch; and re-hired Rupert Walters as Group President, Entertainment & Communications. Walters left NPD in 2001 and was most recently President and COO of Ipsos North America.

Bush will work closely with Ross Young, who will remain President of DisplaySearch's analyst business and will be responsible for all reports and content.

Previously the group's VP of Business Development, Bush managed the DisplaySearch acquisition last autumn. Prior to that, he was President of NPD Houseworld, the managing operations for the Appliance and Home Products Divisions. Before joining NPD he worked at American Express, ACNielsen, IRI and initially in marketing and sales at Del Monte Foods.

Tom Lynch, NPD Group's CFO and COO, says Young and Bush 'will make a formidable team' and that the appointment demonstrates the group's investment in DisplaySearch, which provides forecasts, analyses and surveys for the FPD and related markets, as well as organising events. The firm has a core team of 36 employees located in North America and Asia and is on the web at www.displaysearch.com .

Heather Boudreau has also joined DisplaySearch, from elsewhere in the group, as Marketing and Events Specialist. She has more than 8 years of marketing and events experience including previous roles at NY-based accounting firm Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP, and at the American Cancer Society. At DisplaySearch, she will be responsible for directing DisplaySearch's US conferences as well as managing the company's web site and communications distribution.

Walters replaces Esther Han, who moves to a part-time role for health reasons. He will oversee sales and operations for NPD businesses in a diverse set of industry sectors including Toys, Software, Video & PC Games, Music, Film & Video, and Wireless; he will also join NPD's Business Strategy Committee and will play a key role in several strategic planning initiatives.

His previous stint at NPD lasted eight years, from 1993 to 2001, finishing as President and Chief Operating Officer for NPD – the firm's custom research business was then sold to Ipsos and Walters moved with it. Prior to 1993 he was CEO of Chemical Bank's Mortgage Banking Business (now JPMorgan Chase) and CEO of Popsicle, a division of Sara Lee. Earlier he worked in Marketing & Sales at General Foods, Time Warner Cable TV, and J Walter Thompson.

NPD President and Chief Operating Officer Karyn Schoenbart says Walters will be a key member of the leadership team, 'working on strategic issues, including the company's plans for global expansion'.

The Group's home page is at www.npd.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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