HI Europe has appointed a new managing director in the UK following the departure of Marek Vaygelt.

Aled Morris, former managing director of recruitment company Office Angels, has been brought in to lead the daily operations of the Harris Interactive subsidiary.

HI Europe president, George Terhanian said of the appointment: “We wanted someone with a fresh perspective, who knows how to run a complicated, growing operation.

“The UK is a very competitive market. So many big companies are based here, you have to be nimble. Aled’s background is one that lends itself to the culture we have established.”

One of Morris’ key tasks is to promote increased communication and collaboration between the company’s office in London and the Manchester office of Wirthlin Worldwide – the MR agency bought by Harris in September 2004.

Terhanian told Research a “significant amount of progress” had been made in integrating the two companies.

Research staff were unaffected by the acquisition, however Terhanian said a handful of back office staff – from functions including finance and HR – had left the company after turning down alternative positions within the business.