OLR Hires Political, Social and Public Policy Head

London-based Opinion Leader Research (OLR) has appointed former Social Democratic Party researcher Sarah Horack as Research Director, in charge of its Political, Social and Public Policy research team.

OLR is part of the Research & Engagement Division of Chime, which also includes Facts International, Caucus, Tree, Naked Eye and Brand Democracy.

Horack joins from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked as Research Director in the Policy Research and Economics Group. This Government-facing role included securing mandates for policy studies, project management and preparing published reports.

Prior to this, she served as Director of Corporate Finance and Public Policy Research at RS Consulting, before which she was Head of Polling and Election Research for the Social Democratic Party. In this role, she managed the party's research programme, was involved with MPs in planning campaign strategies through two General Elections, and advised party leaders on marketing and communications.

In her new position, Horack will lead the political, social and public policy research team, and be a leading player in Brand Democracy, the company's specialist message testing division.

'As a leading figure in the area of corporate social responsibility, and a renowned political and public policy thought leader, Sarah will be an invaluable asset to our team,' states Crispin Beale, CEO of Chime's Research & Engagement Division. 'I am confident that she will make a substantial contribution across the division by becoming a leading figure in Brand Democracy, and enhancing our already strong political, social and public policy division for clients.'

Horack will report to Sinéad Jefferies, who has recently joined to lead OLR from her previous position as Head of Business Intelligence at Royal Mail.

Web sites: www.chime.plc.uk and www.opinionleader.co.uk .