Sheldrake (pictured) has been working with the company as a consultant since May 2017 and now the arrangement has been made permanent.

YouthSight was founding by Marks in 2004, and it owns and manages The OpinionPanel Community, a youth research panel with more than 150,000 active members. Sheldrake joins Lawrence Gould, former CFO at Getty Images, as a non-exec.

YouthSight managing direct, Ben Marks, said: “Over the past three years we’ve managed to grow the business quite considerably. We’re keen to continue this growth. Richard’s appointment is very much part of this plan. His depth of experience in the industry has already proved invaluable and we’re truly delighted he’s agreed to join us.”