McCann Worldgroup Names 'Truth Central' President

In New York, marcoms company McCann Worldgroup (MW) has promoted Laura Simpson to the roles of President of its global intelligence unit 'Truth Central', and Global Chief Information Officer.

Interpublic-owned MW comprises McCann (advertising), MRM (science / technology / relationship marketing), Momentum Worldwide (total brand experience), McCann Health (professional / dtc communications), CRAFT (production), Weber Shandwick (PR) and FutureBrand (consulting / design). The group's Truth Central division is dedicated to uncovering 'truths' that drive people's attitudes and behavior about life, brands and marketing. It recently launched 'Truth Engine', a proprietary tool that provides access across the network to the proprietary insights identified by Truth Central since its launch ten years ago.

Simpson (pictured) began her career in London at Synovate as a Senior Researcher, before joining MW sixteen years ago as Head of Pulse, a trend, research, and insight specialist within the Planning team. Since 2011, she has been EVP Global Director of Truth Central. In her new role, she will continue to head up the network's global intelligence capability, with responsibility for guiding the creation, usage and connectivity of the group's suite of intelligence resources. She will also oversee the development of new analytics and applied intelligence tools, techniques and platforms, and develop new ways of applying insights.

Commenting on the appointment, Global President Suzanne Powers said: 'In our industry, knowledge truly is power... the more we know about people's attitudes, beliefs, and behavior, the more effective we are at helping our brands earn a meaningful role in people's lives. Laura has a sixth sense in not only identifying the most important forces impacting the world but leveraging that knowledge to unlock creativity and directly solve our clients' business challenges'.

Web site: www.mccannworldgroup.com .