P&G's Dedeker to Take New Kantar Quality Role

Procter & Gamble veteran Kim Dedeker is joining WPP's insight and consultancy division Kantar in a new role as Chair, Americas, where she will focus on the group's global research quality initiatives.

Based in the firm's Cincinnati office, Dedeker will oversee US-based Kantar HQ staff functions including business development and privacy roles, while piloting a new approach to the supply chain designed to deliver greater added value. She will also focus on industry transformation which she describes as 'imperative'.

Dedeker joined P&G's Consumer & Market Knowledge Department in 1982 after receiving her BS in Economics from the University of Cincinnati. Since then, she has held a variety of senior roles; most recently working as VP, Consumer and Market Knowledge External Capability. Prior to this, she was VP, Global Consumer and Market Knowledge for seven years.

During her career, Dedeker has been involved with a number of industry bodies. She is a past Board Member of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), and is currently Chairperson of its Online Research Quality Council (ORQC) Client Advisory Board.

In her new role she will report to CEO Eric Salama who comments: 'I've long admired Kim's vision and the way that she and colleagues at P&G have led the industry in so many ways. I'm thrilled that she is joining us and believe that we can harness her passion, leadership around data quality issues and desire to increase the value that agencies add to their clients to help Kantar achieve its goal.'

The Kantar network comprises 20 specialist companies - including the recently-acquired TNS, Millward Brown, Research International, BMRB, and Lightspeed Research. Its 26,500 employees work across 80 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines.

Yesterday, parent company WPP announced it would be making 6% of its global workforce redundant in response to the global financial and economic crisis.

Web sites: www.kantargroup.com and www.wpp.com .