Nelson (pictured)  was one of the founders of TNS – originally Taylor Nelson, and later Taylor Nelson Sofrès – in 1965 and remained at the organisation until 1992.

Later, Nelson was founder patron of AMSR alongside Geoffrey Roughton and was a trustee of AMSR from 2016 to her retirement at the end of March 2022, after which she became an honorary trustee.

In addition, Nelson held numerous prominent positions including chairman of the Marketing Group of Great Britain, chair of the South West National Health Service Trust, chair of Stargate Capital Investment Group and vice-chair of the Open University.

Nelson was educated in the US and London, where she gained a PhD in clinical psychology.  She was awarded an OBE in 1997 for services to ecolabelling and held honorary doctorates from City University and the Open University. 

Nelson was a recipient of a Market Research Society (MRS) Gold Medal in 1993 for exceptional service to the market research profession and a lifetime achievement award from the Women Who Make a Difference International Women’s Forum in 2011.

In 2019, MRS launched the Liz Nelson Award, which recognised projects that have benefited deserving causes, had a positive impact on society and demonstrated the power of research outside of the commercial sphere.

A statement from AMSR read: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Dr Elizabeth Nelson OBE; she died peacefully at home on 27th March 2025.

“Liz was a distinguished researcher, one of the founders of AMSR and an AMSR honorary trustee.”

Jane Frost, chief executive at MRS, said: “Liz was one of the greats of the research sector, not only a successful business woman in the partnership that built TNS , but an indefatigable supporter of MRS as a fellow and being elected to the main board again just a few years ago.

“She was that rare person – absolutely nice through and through, she always had a smile for MRS staff and never failed to say thank you or drop a line of praise about things she saw. I counted her as a friend and many is the time she would come round to my house to cuddle a dog, have a glass of wine and talk all things AMSR. I will miss her smiles and enthusiasm.”