Daily Research News Online no. 7521 - Polk Hires Director to Lead New Analytics Group

Polk Hires Director to Lead New Analytics Group

November 1 2007

Auto specialist RL Polk has formed an advanced analytics division and appointed Lionel Yron to lead it. The firm has also hired Dan Zetu as Analytic Consultant and Bruce Giffin as Manager of Corporate MR for its Industry Analysis group.

Yron was previously Director of Consulting and Analytics at JD Power, before which he was a Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, and Business Planning Manager at Hewlett Packard. He earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

In his new role as Director of Advanced Analytics, Yron will oversee design, development and delivery of products and services.

Commented Chairman, President and CEO Stephen Polk: 'We have put the right talent and capabilities in place to help ensure our customers will grow their business in the very competitive automotive marketplace. Lionel's industry experience and background make him an excellent choice to lead the new group'.

Zetu joins Polk from a role as Marketing Scientist at Market Strategies. Prior to this he was a Senior Statistician at JD Power, a Project Engineer at Belcan and a Research Assistant at the University of Illinois. Zetu holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from The University of Illinois at Chicago.

Giffin comes to Polk with 20 years of marketing research experience with international suppliers in advertising and corporate research, with a focus on the automotive sector. He holds an MBA from Wayne State University.

Both Zetu and Giffin will report to Lonnie Miller, Polk's Director of Industry Analysis.

Polk is based in Southfield, Michigan and has operations on four continents. The firm, which recently partnered with The Cobalt Group and Yahoo! to produce a study billed as 'the largest research initiative in the automotive industry' (www.mrweb.com/drno/news7466.htm ), is online at www.polk.com.