Former Nielsen Execs Open for Business in China

Former Nielsen colleagues Jeff Stewart and Christophe Cazes have launched a new firm called Asia Market Development (AMD), offering alternative approaches to the larger global firms which they say offer 'inflexible solutions' not designed for the Asian market.

Prior to the launch, Stewart served as MD, Greater China, Consumer Research and BASES, while Cazes led one of Nielsen's largest accounts in Northeast Asia. Through their new offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, they will offer a range of data-centric information services to provide in-depth market understanding, brand and communications analysis, innovation, and customer and stakeholder management to clients across the luxury goods, FMCG, IT, and health and wellness sectors.

An undisclosed amount of investment funding for the new initiative comes from US-based Primetrica and Huntington Capital through their joint venture CNCData, which supplies market and business intelligence database services in Asia.

Stewart says the pair thought 'long and hard about how best to enter the complex Greater China market place', and decided the Huntington option would give them the scale and speed needed for long-term success.

Web site: www.amdresearch.com .