Raj Buys Into Shapiro to Form New Chicago Firm

In Chicago, marketing services CEO and business transformation specialist Zain Raj has acquired a majority interest in independent market research firm Shapiro, and will form a new firm, Shapiro + Raj.

Shapiro, in whose current headquarters in West Ohio Street the new company will be based, was founded in 1955 by Leo J. Shapiro and is known for its social science research methodologies and behaviorism, developed at the University of Chicago. Raj has worked with the firm in various capacities over the last fifteen years.

The new company will also be taking an equity stake in an offshore technology and analytics firm in India, helping to 'speed delivery, drive down costs and enhance value for clients' according to Raj, who was most recently CEO of CRM giant Epsilon Agency Services (EAS). His past credits include leading the acquisition of D.L. Ryan Companies by SolutionSet MediaWhiz to create Hyper Marketing, Inc. (HMI), the largest independent marketing services firm in North America; and organizing the latter's acquisition in 2012 by Epsilon. Earlier he was CEO at Euro RSCG Discovery and held senior leadership roles at FCB, JWT and Grey.

Matthew Smith, current President of Shapiro, will become Vice Chairman of the new company while its President will be Owen Shapiro, a VP at the previous firm.

Raj, CEO of the new company, says he was looking 'to fill a notable gap in the marketplace for a differentiated strategic insights and ideas capability' - he sees most of today's marketers as 'suffering from information overload, drinking from the fire hose of data coming at them.' The new entity aims 'to help marketers integrate this data and deliver insights and big ideas by pairing behavioral dimensions of market research with the latest in analytical capabilities.' This includes assimilating syndicated research, primary research, digital capabilities and advanced analytics.

Owen Shapiro comments: 'We believe the future of our business is all about delivering smarter, better and more strategic capabilities and bringing on someone with Zain's credentials and expertise will help us succeed in this new realm.'

Shapiro's existing office locations also include New York, London and Sydney, and its existing web site is at www.ljs.com , while the new company can be found at www.shapiroraj.com .