Former P&G marketing guru to advise IRI
CHICAGO - Information Resources, Inc. announced Tuesday that former Procter & Gabmle executiev Joan Lewis will work with the company as a senior advisor. She will work closely with Andrew Appel, IRI’s president and CEO, and the IRI management team on enhancing its growth delivered portfolio of technology and data-enabled products and services.
“Joan is a uniquely-qualified advisor whose unmatched strategic insights will be critical as IRI continues to enhance the services we provide to deliver differential growth to our clients,” Appel stated. “Her hands-on experience, ability to convert media and consumer insights into competitive advantage, thought leadership and organization development capabilities provide a valuable complement to our existing capabilities.”
Lewis formerly served as a global senior executive with P&G. During her more than 25-year tenure at P&G, Lewis’ extensive achievements were well recognized. Some key achievements include strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of P&G’s massive advertising budget, year on year, for over eight years; reinventing P&G’s brand building practices; simplifying P&G’s product launch cycle; and guiding the company’s direction in both traditional and digital media. In Lewis’ last position at P&G, global officer and SVP, consumer and market knowledge, Lewis led 1,100 research professionals in more than 50 countries with a combined budget of more than $350 million.
Concurrent with her position as a senior advisor to IRI, Lewis will continue to serve as a board member of comScore, part of the IRI Partner Ecosystem and a publicly held technology company, as well as serve on other boards. She will also continue as a strategic consultant for various businesses and as an advisor to several start-up companies.
“I’m eager to apply my experience to accelerate IRI’s growth plans,” Lewis said. “The company is dedicated to providing the leading-edge technology and innovation needed to achieve success in this highly competitive industry.”
Lewis graduated summa cum laude from Miami University in Ohio. In 2010, she was recognized by Advertising Age as one of the Top 25 Women to Watch, and again in 2014 as the recipient of a Greater Cincinnati YWCA Career Women of Achievement award. She has been active with the Advertising Research Foundation for the last 15 years, including serving on the ARF board twice, most recently from 2012 through 2014.