GfK Restructures for Growth in AsiaPac

GfK has appointed seven leaders in China, Korea, Malaysia and Japan, as part of a strategy to expand its global research solutions across the Asia Pacific region.

Kyungeun Chang (KE) has been named Managing Director of GfK Korea, having previously served as MD of the newly combined Ipsos/Synovate business in the country, and been responsible for the establishment of the User Sensing team for Synovate Korea.

Selinna Chin takes on the role of General Manager of the GfK Consumer Choices office in Malaysia, where she will lead the local team. Prior to joining, she was with IDC for eighteen years, latterly as VP for emerging ASEAN markets.

In Japan, Yoshi Fujibayashi has been appointed for the new role of MD of GfK Consumer Choices, in charge of the company's overall strategy in the country. He started his career with GfK as Manager of Global services, and most recently served as Senior Executive Officer, Prior to joining, he worked for NEC for more than fifteen years.

Nehal Medh has been appointed MD of GfK Consumer Experiences, Singapore, leading new business development. He has 26 years' agency and client side experience in Singapore and India, with Forbes, Nielsen, Market Probe and Ipsos.

In Shanghai, Ashok Sethi has been named Regional Development Director for Asia and the Pacific, responsible for the development and deployment of marketing science expertise. Prior to this he was the Head of Consumer Insights, Rapid Growth and Emerging Markets at TNS, and served as the firm's MD in China and its Regional Director for Methodology and Best Practice for Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Eliza Wong takes up the role of Managing Director Hong Kong & Taiwan and Head of Operations for Greater China. She previously worked in the market research industry in Hong Kong, Canada, mainland China and Taiwan for seventeen years, and joins GfK after A career at Synovate, where she was the CEO for greater China. Prior to this, she served as Operations Director at ACNielsen Hong Kong.

Finally, Alfred Zhou has been promoted to General Manager, GfK Consumer Choices China. He started his career with GfK as the Sales and Marketing Director in GfK Retail and Technology China in 2004, prior to which he worked in sales and marketing in the IT industry for more than fourteen years.

Debi Basu and Frans Janssen (pictured), GfK's Regional COOs for Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement: 'These appointments give an important indication of our commitment to leading the APAC market research arena over the coming years. With our major clients investing in Asia, we are supporting them every step of the way - bringing our global solutions ever more into the Asian realm and developing specific offerings for this unique market.'

Web site: www.gfk.com .