Nuremberg, 06 February 2013 – GfK has appointed four senior leaders to its regional management in CEE-META (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Turkey and Africa) and APAC (Asia and the Pacific).
The focus on Asia and on the CEE-META region is key to GfK’s Own the Future strategy. Essential to successfully executing the expansion strategy are the new regional positions, which promote the transfer of expertise between GfK specialists at sector, country and client level.
Debra A. Pruent, Management board member (COO) and responsible for the Consumer Experiences sector, comments “These appointments give an important indication of our commitment to further strengthen our activities in Asia and the Middle East, and to support the shared utilization of our existing data, research solutions and resources. In 2012 for example, group sales of the APAC region already showed 29.7 percent growth. With 17 percentage points, it is the strongest region in terms of organic growth. This is particularly positive.”
Caroline Henne appointed as GfK’s Regional Business Development Director Digital Market Intelligence for CEE-META
Caroline Henne will focus on expanding Digital Market Intelligence expertise across the region and will support new digital business development among existing clients, as well as identifying and developing new digital business opportunities outside the existing client base.
She has nearly ten years of digital and market research experience. Caroline Henne was previously responsible for opening the first international nurago office in London – a 100% subsidiary of GfK which laid the foundations for GfK’s Digital Market Intelligence expansion. She then joined the International Client Services team, which successfully launched GfK’s digital strategy into multiple markets across South and West Europe. Caroline Henne holds a Bachelor of International Management for Media.
Sujata Mehta appointed as Managing Director of GfK Consumer Experiences Malaysia
Sujata Mehta will be leading the Malaysian customized research team to drive the business with a special focus on the automotive, consumer goods, financial services and technology industries.
Before her move to GfK, she was Regional Director for brand health studies at The Nielsen Company, responsible for the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa markets. There she had experiences handling both the consumer research and the retail tracking business. From 2010 – 2012 Sujata Mehta was in the Executive Committee Board of the Market Research Society of Malaysia. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a post-graduate diploma in Marketing Management from Mumbai University.
Stephen Potts appointed Regional Lead Healthcare for Asia
Based in Singapore, Stephen Potts is now responsible for introducing and delivering GfK’s healthcare portfolio across Asia. In his role, he will be developing a team to build innovative health research solutions specifically for Asia and working to ensure that Asia is an early innovator of the latest solutions.
Stephen Potts joins GfK from Kantar Health, where he was Managing Director of the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions, as well as the company’s Global Head of Market Research. His more than 12 years of accumulated experience in Asia’s health market research has made him a respected business leader in this industry.
Sara van der Wildt appointed as Head of GfK Consumer Experiences Middle East
In her new role, Sara van der Wildt is responsible for managing the Consumer Experiences division in the Middle East, namely in United Arab Emirates, KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
She joined GfK in October, 2010 as Regional Operations Director for CEE and META. Sara van der Wildt brings 15 years experience in market research including local, regional and global roles. Her previous company experiences include Unilever, Kraft Foods and Reckitt Benckiser. Sara van der Wildt holds degrees in Economics, Marketing and Sociology.
About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with more than 12,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2011, GfK’s sales amounted to EUR 1.37 billion. To find out more, visit www.gfk.com