The successful candidates were James Sallows (pictured left), head of marketing effectiveness at Lego, Seema Hope (pictured right), research director at The Economist, and Elizabeth Norman (pictured centre), chief executive officer at Elizabeth Norman International.

The three new board members will take up their new responsibilities at the beginning of April. As a result of the election, half of MRS board members are women, a quarter from minority ethnic backgrounds and one quarter are from client-side research organisations.

The election, which took place from 3^rd to 28^th February, saw nine candidates vying for the three vacant seats.

Rebecca Cole, managing director at Cobalt Sky, was named chair designate of MRS in January, starting in April 2025, after running unopposed.

Jane Frost, chief executive at MRS, said: “I would like to thank all the candidates. Putting your name forward for election is an emotional experience, we need people who are prepared to stand up for their convictions, and elections are never a comfortable experience.

“I am very pleased to welcome all the successful candidates to the main board.” 

James Endersby, chair of MRS and chief executive at Opinium, said: “It was inspiring to see so many exceptional candidates stand for the opportunity to lead and serve our £9bn UK insights sector.

“As we head into our 80^th year, and with the world around us more turbulent and fast-moving than ever, I am encouraged that we have assembled such a high calibre leadership team with the knowledge, experience and determination to lead from the front. The MRS is in exceptionally safe hands.”