Former Ipsos Leaders Saddle Up New Agency

In Sydney, Australia, former Ipsos execs Peter Fairbrother and Veronica Mayne have launched an insights consultancy called Faster Horses, which will cover both the east and west coasts of Australia, while also reaching clients in the Asia Pacific region.

Fairbrother spent the past seven years at Ipsos, most recently as Director, Financial Services and Telecoms in Sydney, and earlier as MD India and SEA. Before this, he was a Partner at Eureka Strategic Research, which was acquired by Ipsos in 2007. Mayne also has a seven year Ipsos background, having initially served as Head of Qualitative at Synovate in Perth, prior to its sale to Ipsos, when she became MD of the firm's qual arm, Ipsos UU (Understanding Unlimited).

Their new boutique agency specialises in brand and communication inception, development and tracking; corporate reputation; customer engagement and evaluation; and new product/service inception and evaluation. As well as working across Australia, the firm will also reach clients in the Asia Pacific region via a partnership with recently launched Malaysian firm Green Zebras, and with the latters' global partner network including the likes of Vision Critical, Buzzback, Tapestry works and Gordon & McCallum.

Commenting on the launch, the pair said: 'We saw a gap in the market for an insights consultancy that builds true commercial partnerships, critically evaluates clients' issues and challenges thinking. We will harness our networks to ensure that our clients get holistic, commercial advice in relation to their business challenges.'

Web site: www.fasterhorses.consulting .