Pre Close Update and Directorate Change

RNS Number : 1735M

YouGov PLC

11 August 2011

 



YouGov plc

11 August 2011

YouGov plc ("YouGov" or "the Company")

Pre Close Update and Directorate Change

YouGov plc, the international online market research agency, today issued the following pre-close update for the year ended 31 July 2011, ahead of the preliminary results announcement due in October 2011.

YouGov announces that trading for the year ended 31 July 2011 was in line with the Board's expectations. The recently acquired US businesses are performing well. In the second half of the year, the relative performance of units across the Group was consistent with that reported in the first half.

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment, with immediate effect, of Doug Rivers, (currently CEO of YouGov's American business) as Chief Innovations Officer and an executive director of the YouGov plc Board.  In his new role, Doug will lead the development of YouGov's key data products and their exploitation across the Group. Following this appointment,  Doug will become Chairman of YouGov America and Doss Struse, currently managing partner of Definitive Insights, will become President of YouGov America, responsible for its operational management including the continued integration of the recently acquired businesses. 

Doug Rivers has led YouGov's American business since 2007 following YouGov's acquisition of Polimetrix which Doug founded in 2004.  He has a successful track record as an entrepreneur and is well known as an innovator and thought leader in the US market research and academic communities. Doug was Chairman of Knowledge Networks from 1998 to 2002 and has been Professor of Political Science at Stanford University in California since 1989.  Doug holds a PhD from Harvard University and a BA from Columbia University.

Doss Struse is a Managing Partner and co-founder of Definitive Insights based in Portland, Oregon, which YouGov acquired in April 2011.  He was previously CEO of Momentum Market Intelligence and Senior Vice President of Marketing at Knowledge Networks. Prior to that, Doss was CEO of Research International USA and, Head of Strategy, Marketing, Pricing and Product Development at A.C. Nielsen. Doss holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.S. in Sociology from the University of Michigan.

Stephan Shakespeare, CEO of YouGov plc, said:

"We have delivered on our objectives during the last year and are well positioned for the future. Today's appointments will further strengthen our Group management team.  Doug's focus on innovation will enable us to increase our share of revenue from scalable products, new methodologies and advanced analytics.  Doss brings extensive experience in managing international research businesses which will help to maintain the rapid growth of our US business."

The information on Doug Rivers required to be disclosed in accordance with Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM Rules is as follows:

Full Name: Richard Douglas Rivers

Age: 55

Current Shareholding in the Company:  1,972,617 shares

Percentage of Issued Share Capital: 2% 

Current Directorships:  YouGov America Inc; Roper Center (University of Connecticut)

Past Directorships held in the last five years: Knowledge Networks Inc

Partnerships: Limited partner in following venture capital partnerships: Alloy Ventures, Alsop-Louie Partners, Asset Management Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Mobius Venture Partners, and Softbank Venture Capital. 

YouGov confirms that there are no other matters which require disclosure in relation to Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules.

Enquiries:

YouGov plc
Stephan Shakespeare / Alan Newman	020 7012 6000
Grant Thornton Corporate Finance
Gerry Beaney/Colin Aaronson	020 7383 5100

Financial Dynamics                                                        

Charles Palmer / Jon Snowball                                           020 7831 3113

 

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