Before joining Ayda, Thornton (pictured) held chief commercial officer, deputy chief executive and chief commercial officer during more than 12 years at Cint.

Thornton also founded Claret & You Consulting Limited, an advisory and services firm working with early-stage companies, and is an operating partner at J12 Ventures, a Nordic-based seed investment fund in technology companies.

Ayda is a research operations business that focuses on the participant experience in qualitative and user research.

Shifra Cook, chief executive and founder at Ayda, said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us, to have Richard join.

“His experience and knowledge of the industry will be exceptionally important as we continue to grow as a business.”