Ipsos Hires New Aus CEO as Wake Takes APAC Audience Role

Ipsos has appointed Erik Heller as CEO of Ipsos Australia, replacing Simon Wake who moves to the new role of Asia Pacific Audience Measurement Service Line Leader, based in Sydney.

Heller (pictured below) brings more than twenty years of experience in research, advisory and business transformation. Most recently he led the full-service end-to-end research practice of EY in Oceania, as a Partner at EY Sweeney. His deep client and commercial expertise is complemented by extensive experience leading teams in complex organisations, according to the firm.

Wake (pictured above) was a Director of Millward Brown Precis for five years before joining the Financial Review Group in 2003 - over eight years here he rose from MR Manager to Group Marketing Director, before briefly joining news publisher Fairfax Media. Since February 2013 he has worked at Ipsos, initially as MD for its MediaCT division, and then more than a decade as CEO Australia and New Zealand, overseeing three acquisitions and 'a long list of major contract wins.' He comments: 'I'm incredibly proud of what we've built in Australia over the past decade. We have an outstanding leadership team, talented people across the organisation and trusted relationships with our clients, which leaves the Australian business in great shape for its next phase of growth under Erik's leadership.' Looking forward to his new role, he states: 'The [Asia Pacific audience measurement] market is evolving rapidly and there is significant potential to build on Ipsos' expertise, capabilities and partnerships across the region.'

Recently appointed Global CEO Kelly Beaver says of the news: 'Australia is an important market for Ipsos and is well positioned for continued growth. Erik's appointment gives us the leadership to build on that momentum locally, while Simon's new regional role reflects the scale of opportunity we see in audience measurement across APEC. Together, these appointments strengthen our ability to grow with pace and create greater impact across the region.'

Web site: www.ipsos.com .