Synovate appoints two CEOs of Geographies

Company Brief

New Delhi, October 8, 2010

Global market research company Synovate, one of the world's largest custom research firms, has promoted Peter Huijboom to one of two newly created roles of CEO of Geographies. Michael Spedding, former CEO of Synovate Healthcare, takes the second position of the same title.

In this new role, Huijboom oversees Synovate's Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe and Latin America business units, as well as Synovate's global Healthcare vertical.

Huijboom has a successful track record in the market research industry and at Synovate. He joined the company in 2002 when Synovate acquired his research company, which he had grown to a thriving business in four European countries. At Synovate, Huijboom was previously responsible for Western Europe and, as CEO of Global Client Relationships, he built and led a dedicated client servicing structure for Synovate's global key accounts.

In his new role, Spedding will now oversee Synovate's business units of Middle East & North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, South Asia, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Spedding's impressive track record includes positions of CEO, COO and CFO within major corporations including Virgin, UBM, and Synovate. He joined Synovate in 2003 and, under his leadership, Synovate Healthcare's turnover doubled through organic growth and profits increased almost three-fold in five years.

The announcement of Spedding's appointment and Huijboom's promotion closely follows Synovate's recent announcements on its China, Scandinavian, and Middle East and North Africa leadership.

Commented Synovate Global CEO Robert Philpott: "This refinement of our geographic leadership structure and strengthening of our senior team allows us to provide better support to market level management and to best service our clients through access to expertise, flexibility, and senior level attention. Both of my colleagues have achieved significant business growth for Synovate over the years and have vast geographical expertise and proven commercial acumen. I am delighted that Michael has rejoined the Synovate team, and I'm looking forward to working closely with him and Peter to achieve our plans for continuing business growth."

For further information, please contact:

Synovate India

Madhurima Bhatia

Mobile: +919999318885

Email: Madhurima.Bhatia@synovate.com