ComRes Hires and Promotes in London

London-based polling and research specialist ComRes has hired five new members of staff, including former Ipsos MORI exec Rob Melvill as Research Team Leader in charge of its FMCG and Food & Beverage practice. The firm has also promoted Tom Clarkston to Research Team Leader.

ComRes serves clients in the UK and internationally, and is known in the UK for its polling work on behalf of The Independent and Independent on Sunday, ITV and the BBC. In April the firm launched a number of new services in preparation for May's European Parliament elections and next year's UK general election, and last night it won the MRS 2014 Public Policy/Social Research Award for its work with the Grantham Institute on climate change and the environment.

Melvill (pictured) joins the company after five years at Ipsos MORI, most recently as Research Manager, and will make use of his stakeholder engagement experience ahead of next year's election. The firm has also hired new Consultants Aahad Ali, formerly of Lexington Communications; recent University of Manchester graduate Ross Graham; Josie Warner, who previously worked as an intern at the National Assembly for Wales; and Moritz Reinsch who joins with a Masters in European Studies from the LSE.

Newly promoted Clarkston will help ComRes develop its work with financial, business and defence clients.

MD Katharine Peacock comments: 'Both the award and the new hires show that we are committed to excellence - from nurturing and hiring exceptional talent, to driving innovation which has a real impact for our clients. This is a fitting end to a cracking year for the company, with many exciting new innovations already in the pipeline for 2015.'

Web site: www.comres.co.uk .