Senior North American Appointments for Kantar

In North America, Kantar has appointed Jeremy Coen as Chief Brand Solutions Officer, North America, and Aaron Smith as Managing Partner, Strategic Consulting.

Coen (pictured above) has spent much of his career at Kantar, having first joined the group in 1998. From 2007 he spent a decade at Millward Brown, latterly as EVP Central Region Lead, then served as Managing Director leading the US Central Region for TNS and Millward Brown, as well as relationships with Molson Coors, Nestlé, McDonald's and Kraft. Leaving the group at the end of 2020 he spent two years at business intelligence provider Morning Consult, then two years ago he joined GfK as a Commercial Account Director working with CPG and other brands in the Midwest. He rejoined Kantar as a client Partner a year ago. Coen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Bradley University.

In his new role, he leads Kantar's Brand Performance business across the US and Canada. He reports to Wayne Levings, CEO of Kantar North America, who comments: 'There has never been a more transformative, yet unpredictable time for brands. Jeremy has the perfect combination of creativity, tenacity, and experience to lead our Brand Performance team.'

Smith (pictured below) spent seventeen years at California-based business consulting and services firm Prophet, latterly as Senior Engagement Manager; then in 2017 moved to WPP agency Wavemaker, where he was Global Chief Client Officer. For the last four years he has served as a Global Principal at Wolff Olins, overseeing large brand transformation efforts including spin-offs, mergers and brand refreshes. Earlier in his career he worked at brand consulting firms Envision and the Sterling-Rice Group.

In his new role he reports to James Potter, Chief Brand Strategy and Consulting Officer, who states: Our clients look to us as their partner along their brand and growth journey. We deliver that through a combination of world-class solutions and expert consulting teams. Aaron brings a depth of brand expertise and a breadth of industry experience that only a few possess. His leadership and dedication to team building will be a huge boost as we take Kantar's Consulting practice to the next level.'

Group home page: www.kantar.com .