Chairman Comer Moves to CEO Role at Cint

Lucid founder Patrick Comer is to move from the Chairman's role at sample marketplace Cint to become CEO, replacing Giles Palmer who has been in the position since April 2023. Deputy Chair Anna Belfrage will step up to Chair the Board 'until further notice'.

Cint's sample exchange is the world's largest, with more than 300 million opted-in respondents in over 130 countries. The firm is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and employs around 900 people across office locations including Stockholm, London, New York, New Orleans, Singapore, Gurgaon, Japan and Sydney. In the past two months it has partnered with self-serve market research platform Brainactive.ai to offer users 'professional end-to-end surveys with real consumers...in a matter of minutes'; and launched agile brand lift measurement solution Study Creator.

Palmer, a qualified Chartered Accountant, founded social media analytics company Brandwatch in 2006 and led the company as CEO until its sale to Cision in 2021 for $450m - he then became the PR and comms group's Chief Growth Officer. During his time as Cint CEO the company has put together a comprehensive integration plan for its legacy platforms and began the initial stages of customer migration.

Comer (pictured) brings to the role more than two decades of experience in the research technology industry. He founded Lucid in 2010, adding programmatic software and innovative products to grow the company rapidly, and sold it to competitor Cint three years ago for $1.1bn. Comer is also the founder of sampling conference SampleCon, and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor's degree from Sewanee: The University of the South.

He comments: 'Technology innovation in Restech is in my blood. I've been fortunate to work with some of the most innovative teams in the industry, bringing routing, programmatic solutions, and APIs to market on the first industry exchanges. Now, we have a unique opportunity to set Cint up for the next stage of innovation and fulfill the vision for the Lucid merger. I'm excited to lead Cint into this new era and continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible in our industry'.

'Patrick has been passionately involved with Cint as Chair', says Belfrage, 'deeply connected to the business and its strategic direction. His experience and profound understanding of our customers' needs and expectations make him the ideal person to step into the CEO role at this time'. She adds: 'We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Giles for his leadership during a pivotal period for Cint. His efforts in furthering the integration plan, initiating customer migration, and stabilizing the business have been invaluable. Giles's dedication has laid a solid foundation for Cint's future growth'.

Web site: www.cint.com .

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