A statement from Kantar said that after “a period of discussion with the board”, Nasard (pictured) decided to step down effective immediately.

“Alexis, with the support of the board, has concluded that the nature of the Kantar role is not the long-term fit he and the board had anticipated,” the statement added.

Ian Griffiths, deputy chief executive and interim leader of Kantar before Nasard joined, will lead the company until a replacement chief executive is appointed. Nasard will be available until 1st July to help the transition to new leadership.

Nasard joined Kantar on 30th December, replacing Eric Salama, who departed Kantar in February 2020 following WPP’s sale of 60% of the company to private equity firm Bain Capital in December 2019.

Before joining Kantar, Nasard was at Bata, which he led from 2016 until 2020, and prior to that was at Heineken in various roles such as president of Western Europe Business and global chief marketing officer.

Nasard has worked for more than 30 years in fast-moving consumer goods and retail, including 17 years at Proctor and Gamble.

Kantar has increasingly been focusing on data-driven services, and earlier this month agreed to acquire Chicago-based consumer and market intelligence firm Numerator in a deal worth just under $1.5bn.

Adam Crozier, chairman, Kantar, said: “I thank Alexis for the positive contribution he made to Kantar. The company has made a strong start to 2021.

“We have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Numerator, a transformational investment for Kantar, have appointed new executives to key positions, have simplified the operating model, and are trading ahead of Q1 2020 and management plans.”