Senior US Changes at The NPD Group

In the US, retail information provider The NPD Group has named Steve Flavin as President of its Automotive Aftermarket practice. Former Nielsen exec Rob Hill joins as EVP, US Retail Business Group, while Diane Nicholson has been promoted to the role of Chief of Staff.

Flavin, who joined NPD in 2001 as Director of Sales, has 25 years' experience in the automotive industry, more than ten of them in leadership roles in NPD's Automotive Aftermarket practice. Most recently he was President, Technology East & Mobile Business Practices, and prior to this he was VP of Client Development and Business Development for the Automotive Aftermarket team. He takes over from Dawn Zieren, who is moving into a new corporate role, supporting NPD's cross-practice global and strategic initiatives.

Meanwhile Travis Mitchell, who has more than a decade of automotive aftermarket experience, has moved from the position of Product Development for NPD's Hardliner sector, to the role of Executive Director of Client Development, reporting to Flavin. In turn, Flavin reports to Perry James, President of NPD's Hardlines sector, which covers automotive, home and office supplies.

CEO Karyn Schoenbart comments: 'Steve's passion for the automotive industry and the enthusiasm he brings to this field will be valuable assets as we continue to grow and transform our automotive business. We're excited to have Dawn join our corporate team as we continue to build our global business'.

Hill joins the company to oversee relations for nearly 400 retailer partners, spanning the 20+ industries tracked by NPD. He was previously EVP of Nielsen's Retail Services Group, where he helped design and deploy data sharing and joint analytic and collaboration programs between retailers and manufacturers. In his new role, reporting to Retail President Don Unser, Hill will replace Joanne Sackett, who will now lead NPD's luxury tracking Softlines arm, reporting to Tim Bush, Group President, Americas Commercial Business.

As Chief of Staff, Nicholson will work closely with Schoenbart to help drive the company's initiatives across a broad range of industries and projects. She joined NPD in 1997, and has since held a series of senior management positions, including launching NPD's first footwear tracking service in 1997 and building the beauty business to oversee the full Softlines portfolio.

Web site: www.npdgroup.com .

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