Australia-Based Harvest Picks CEO for North America

Melbourne-based retail specialist Harvest Insights has appointed former General Mills researcher Marlene Straszewski as CEO, North America.

The company works on shopper, brand, product and innovation projects including ideation and NPD screening, and range, price and pack optimisation.

Straszewski (pictured) joins after running her own consultancy, Shadowbox Consulting, for more than three years, before which she spent almost twenty years at General Mills, leading Insights and Analytics teams across the US, Canada and international markets. She served as a member of the Executive Leadership Team in NA, reporting directly to the President, leading the Consumer Insights & Analytics Team and establishing G-Works, an internal incubator focused on creating new business ventures. Earlier in her career she worked at Nielsen and Research International, and client side for Haagen Dazs and the Pilsbury Company.

Harvest welcomes her 'expertise in leveraging quantitative and qualitative data to understand consumer behavior and marketplace drivers' as well as her experience in coaching and mentoring insights managers', and concludes: 'Her leadership will sharpen our insights, ensuring they are deeply focused on implementation and driving meaningful implications for our clients'.

Web site: www.harvestinsightsgroup.com .