GfK Names Angelina Villarreal as Head of Multicultural Research

NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GfK Custom Research North America today announced the appointment of Angelina Villarreal, Ph.D., as Vice President, Multicultural Research. In this new role, she will partner with other multicultural experts from each of the company's business units to develop, implement, and measure forward-thinking marketing research strategies for the fast-growing Hispanic, Asian-American and African-American consumer segments.

"Angelina brings more than 18 years of experience in market research, with an extensive background in domestic and international research across a variety of industries," said David Krajicek, Co-President, GfK Custom Research North America.  "For the past two decades she has led research initiatives in the multicultural markets to help companies better market and position their products among Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American consumers."  

The new appointment expands GfK Custom Research's core capabilities in qualitative and quantitative research within a multicultural context, especially relevant to the company's Consumer Packaged Goods, Financial Services, Technology and Automotive sector-focused teams.

Prior to joining GfK, Villarreal served as Vice President of Research at Creative Response and Research, where she led Hispanic market and multicultural consulting and research projects, and as Vice President of Research and Development at Safeco Insurance.  At Safeco, she established Voice of Customer and Voice of Agent research programs and their first Mystery Shopping Program.

"Throughout her successful career, both as an independent research provider and an employee of well-known firms, Angelina has been actively engaged in helping companies to better design and market their products to multicultural consumer segments," said Krajicek.

Villarreal is originally from Monterrey, Mexico and holds a BA in Business Administration from Tecnologico de Monterrey, an MA in Economics from Universidad de Nuevo Leon, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a major in Consumer Behavior and a minor in Applied Statistics from the University of Pittsburgh.

About GfK Custom Research North America

Headquartered in New York, GfK Custom Research North America is part of the GfK Group. The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions. It delivers a comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in three business sectors—Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media. The no. 4 market research organization worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 10,000 staff. In 2009, the GfK Group's sales amounted to EUR 1.16 billion. For more information visit www.gfkamerica.com. Follow us at www.gfkinsights4u.com or on Twitter @gfkamerica.

SOURCE GfK Custom Research North America