Britain’s YouGov names Meta exec Steve Hatch CEO

YouGov plc, a British online market research company, announced Friday the appointment of Steve Hatch as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1. Hatch has been Meta Platforms Inc.’s (META) Vice President for Northern Europe since 2016.

Hatch succeeds Stephan Shakespeare, who will assume the role of Non-Executive Chair, as previously announced.

The company also noted that Roger Parry will be standing down from the role of Non-Executive Chair on July 31, in line with the previously disclosed Board succession plan.

The CEO appointment follows a comprehensive international search process. Shakespeare, YouGov’s co-founder, will work closely with Hatch in the initial months of his appointment to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.

Further, the company said that Nick Prettejohn will take on the role of Senior Independent Director on August 1. Prettejohn takes over the role from Rosemary Leith who will stay on the Board following this planned transition and will continue as Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

Hatch holds over 30 years’ experience leading high growth marketing, media, and technology companies. He was appointed as Facebook’s first Regional Director for the UK in 2014.

Prior to joining Facebook, Hatch spent 15 years at WPP, his final role being CEO of media agency, MEC. Before joining WPP, he worked in strategy roles at Omnicom and Y&R.

Hatch is currently a Non-Executive Director at Reach plc, a position he has held since 2015. He will be stepping down from this role before he joins YouGov. Nasdaq