Till Replaces Novak at Harris as More Jobs Go

Harris Interactive has announced that President & CEO Greg Novak is leaving the firm, to be replaced by former TNS North American CEO Kimberly Till. The company has also announced today that it will make around 30 US staff redundant.

Novak, who has held the position since September 2005, will be assisting in the handover process and will continue to serve as an off-site consultant until the end of this year. Harris Interactive spokesman Dan Hucko told DRNO that Novak is currently pursuing 'a number of possibilities'.

Chairman George Bell thanked Novak for his service and voiced his appreciation at the way he had 'united the company and built a cohesive team' while reconciling the cost structure of the business. However, his departure follows disappointing results in August and the Board is said to be frustrated with the firm's rate of progress.

Till was CEO of TNS North America until leaving the firm in March, when it merged its North American and Latin American custom business. Prior to TNS, she was VP of the Worldwide Media and Entertainment Group at Microsoft, and served as SVP and General Manager of AOL International. She also previously served as the SVP of Strategic Planning and Marketing for Sony Corporation of America, and as the Director of Marketing and Operations for Disney Interactive in Paris, France. Till has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a JD from Duke University Law School and a BA in History from the University of Alabama.

'Kimberly's operational discipline and brand-building strengths combined with her deep knowledge of the research industry and extensive experience in global, client-focused organizations will be immensely useful to re-invigorate growth at Harris Interactive' stated Bell.

Till joins as the firm announces plans to reduce US headcount by around 30 full-time staff, in a bid to align the cost structure of its US operations with operational needs.

The firm expects to complete the redundancies by the end of October and the move will cost the company around $750,000. Corporate, finance, sales, IT, methodology, operations and research employees have all been affected by this action.

These latest job losses are part of the firm's strategy to move towards becoming a 'client-centric organizational structure'. Earlier in the year, Harris Interactive closed its Utah-based phone center, and reduced UK staff numbers.

Web site: www.harrisinteractive.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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