Ipsos Restructures North American Management

Pierre Le Manh has stepped up to the role of CEO of Ipsos in North America, replacing Jim Smith, who becomes Special Advisor to co-Presidents Jean-Marc Lech and Didier Truchot.

Le Manh (pictured) joined the company in 2004, prior to which he was a Consultant at Accenture, Finance Director of Adami, and Chairman and CEO of Encyclopaedia Universalis. He then went on to occupy various management roles with Consodata before being appointed its CEO in 2002.

At Ipsos, he held several roles as Chairman of the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa regions and CEO of Ipsos Europe. Since 2007, he has been Chairman and CEO of Ipsos Marketing - a role that he will retain in addition to his new responsibilities. He is also a member of the Ipsos Board of Directors.

Smith joined the company in 2005 with a particular knowledge of the consumer products sector, having spent the first 20 years of his career at Procter & Gamble (P&G). After this, he was appointed President of Gerber Baby Food Company, led ConAgra's frozen foods division, and was Chairman and CEO of Aurora Foods.

In addition to his new position, Smith will retain his role as Head of the Ipsos dedicated P&G account management division.

Both report to Truchot, who comments: 'Over a period of seven years under Jim's direction, Ipsos in North America has become an essential player in this market. We thank him for his substantial contribution over the years and are convinced that, building on these bases, Pierre will be able to continue from Jim's legacy and contribute to Ipsos becoming the best research agency in its chosen fields of specialisation in this predominant market.'

Web site: www.ipsos.com .