Baldini will responsible for leading InCrowd’s investment in technology, primarily expanding the company’s insights platform.

InCrowd said research and development (R&D) investment is a ‘significant area of focus’ for the company and its private equity backer, Saroras Private Capital.

At Kantar, Baldini had been chief information since 2015, leading technology strategy and capabilities, and also served as vice-president of engineering and product development, overseeing development at Lightspeed GMI. Prior to that, he was vice-president of engineering at GMI, acquired by Kantar in 2011.

Daniel Fitzgerald, chief executive and president at InCrowd, said: “We’re investing heavily in our underlying technology platform to meet and exceed our clients’ existing and growing needs. Joe’s authority and accomplishments in data analytics in the market research arena are unrivalled, as is his ability to build and develop high-performing tech teams. Through Joe’s R&D leadership, we’ll be able to realise our vision for our clients and the market more rapidly.”