Global marketing research giant GfK has announced the consolidation of its US operations into a single entity: GfK Healthcare.
The newly combined company represents the merger of three previously separate operations, GfK Market Measures, GfK Strategic Marketing and GfK V2, and will employ 275 employees across two offices in New Jersey, and one in Pennsylvania.
According to GfK Healthcare CEO Richard Vanderveer, previously group chief executive officer of GfK US Healthcare Companies and chief executive officer of GfK V2, “a few redundancies were encountered [in the consolidation] and were dealt with appropriately.”
Vanderveer credits the decision to manufacturers’ declining revenues and profits, and the need for a “flexible framework of resources,” and project requirements that demand close cooperation among the companies.
“The integration, we hope, will attract clients who are looking for marketing research with both breadth and global depth,” said Vanderveer.
Barry Zimmerman, formerly the president of GfK Market Measures, will serve as president and COO. Dan Fitzgerald, former group EVP of GfK US Healthcare Companies, will serve as chief financial officer. Brian Hull, formerly president of GfK Strategic Marketing, will serve as chief consulting officer. Jim Callandrillo, former chief operating officer of GfK Market Measures, will serve as chief research and operations officer, with Maureen McLaughlin, former chief marketing officer of GfK Market Measures, to be chief marketing officer of the new company.
The new entity represents the largest provider of fully integrated custom healthcare marketing research in the US, according to a statement.
