Kantar NA Promotion Concludes Leadership Overhaul

Anita Watkins has been named as Chief Innovation, Creative and Qualitative Solutions Lead for Kantar Insights North America, after 27 years at the group. The move caps a raft of senior promotions and appointments as the group 'transforms' its business on the continent.

Watkins (pictured) led the firm's Qualitative operations in North America from 2001 to 2017, and in 2017 was promoted to Global Head of Qualitative. In 2021 she took on an additional role as Global Solutions Leader for Innovation.

Kantar says the promotion is part of an ongoing transformation of its North America executive leadership team, which began with appointing Wayne Levings as CEO in December last year. The appointments have also included Chris Petranto, promoted to Chief Growth Officer for NA in addition to leading Kantar's Global Analytics Practice, after 27 years at the group; Scott Megginson as leader in Canada after thirteen years; Rachelle Minnis, promoted to Chief Media Solutions Officer after fifteen years at Kantar companies; Nicole Jones (19 years) promoted to Chief Media Commercial Lead; and Ashley Grant named as Chief People Officer after six years with the group. In addition, Brian James returns to the company where he earlier spent twelve years, after a stint as Global Solutions Sales Lead at Morning Consult, and becomes Kantar NA's Technology and Telecommunications Industry Lead.

Kantar has also recently launched a global analysis of more than 6.5 billion attitudinal and behavioral datapoints, entitles Blueprint for Brand Growth; and has opened the Kantar AI Lab, leading and focusing efforts to integrate the tech within the group.

Levings comments: 'The evolution of our executive leadership team is reflective of the transformation of Kantar NA itself as we bring unique focus to what matters most to our clients. As leaders in advancing AI technology to support of marketers, innovating understanding insights into media effectiveness, to showing brands the pathways to growth through our breakthrough Blueprint for Brand Growth research, Kantar is dedicated to helping brands grow. Our leadership team, with the vast experience they bring, is now in place to lead our clients in doing so'.

Web site: www.kantar.com .

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