Petrone (pictured) was previously senior director in custom research at MarketCast and has worked in quantitative and qualitative research for 13 years.

In his new role, Petrone will be based at Opinium’s New York office and will focus on working with existing clients and creating partnerships with other brands and agencies.

James Endersby, chief executive at Opinium, said: “Mark is an exceptional senior insights consultant and I’m looking forward to introducing him to our clients and partners.

“He will add instant value to everything he touches. But what is more important, in the end, is cultural fit, and Mark absolutely fits our people centric, Opinium for good, value set.

“We all know culture is the difference between good and great in this agency game, and Mark will certainly hit the ground running.”