MRS President Clifton Resigns Interbrand Chairman Role

UK Market Research Society (MRS) President Rita Clifton is leaving her role as Chairman of branding consultancy Interbrand London, to set up her own private office and to take on additional non-executive roles.

Clifton has been a research user throughout a career in advertising, planning, and branding which began with spells at DMB&B and J.Walter Thompson. She joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 1986 and by 1992 was its Director of Strategic Planning; she then moved to Interbrand in 1997 as CEO in London, and became Chairman in 2002.

Along with her existing non-exec director roles at BUPA and Dixons Retail, Clifton has been non-executive Chairman of polling firm Populus for the past seven years, and became MRS President in 2009.

Last year, she was appointed Chairman of social enterprise charity group BTCV, and she currently serves as a trustee of conservation charity WWF.

Clifton was previously a member of the Government's Sustainable Development Commission and is on the Assurance and Advisory Board for BP's carbon-offset programme 'Target Neutral'. In 2006, she was appointed Visiting Professor at Henley Business School.

Discussing her reasons for stepping down from her role at Interbrand, Clifton said she is looking forward to having an independent office and extending her non-exec portfolio. She will also be building on her existing speaking and writing career.

Interbrand says it will not be replacing Clifton and will continue under the leadership of CEO Graham Hale.

Web sites: www.interbrand.com and www.mrs.org.uk .