Open Plan, a division of Open Health and Chime Insight and Engagement, has hired Neil Rees as head of research and Catherine Swanson as a senior research executive.
Both roles are new, and necessary, Open Health partner Cory Inglis told PMLiVE, because “the aim is to grow the research division”.
Rees (top right) joins from Kadence International where he was head of qualitative research, working across B2B, B2C and healthcare sectors. He will be responsible for the management, development and growth of the Open Plan team, all of whom will report to him.
Swanson (bottom right) joins Open Plan from Kantar Health. Following a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Manchester, Swanson worked for Kantar Health in Shanghai before returning to the UK. She works on qualitative and quantitative methodologies across a variety of therapy areas.
“Both appointments add to the breadth of experience of our team. This enables us to meet a variety of research challenges to support our client brand teams,” said Inglis.
“I am very optimistic for the growth of OPEN Plan. The team have delivered some fantastic projects for our clients that really drive their brand’s understanding,” he added.
Crispin Beale, chief executive of Chime Insight & Engagement, added: “I’m delighted to welcome Neil and Katherine to the Chime team – both are real experts in their field and further strengthen our team, allowing us to serve our rapidly growing client base.”