The Demand Institute Appoints Executive Director and Chief Research Officer

NEW YORK, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Demand Institute, a non-profit entity operated jointly by The Conference Board and Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN), today announced that Pope Ward has been appointed executive director and Louise Keely has been appointed chief research officer.

The Demand Institute, launched in February, is focused on illuminating how consumer demand is evolving around the world.

"The Demand Institute is building a more holistic perspective on global consumer demand for business and government leaders," said Mark Leiter, chairman of The Demand Institute and executive vice president at Nielsen. "Pope Ward and Louise Keely bring distinctive leadership experience to the table, and will rapidly advance our capabilities in the areas of demand leadership, evolution and science."

As executive director, Pope Ward will have overall leadership for The Demand Institute's membership programs and operations.  Ward joins The Demand Institute from his position as chair of the Office of Executive Councils and advisor to the U.S. Chief Performance Officer at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Washington, D.C.  While at OMB, Ward was responsible for leading interagency councils that coordinated activities between OMB and the largest federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury.

Prior to joining OMB, Ward spent twenty years as a senior executive with The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) in Washington, D.C.  He served as executive director and chief research officer of CEB's Sales, Marketing & Communication practice.  Ward served as a member of the firm's Policy Committee and chaired the firm's Chief Research Officer Council.  

Appointed chief research officer, Louise Keely will oversee The Demand Institute's research and knowledge building investments.  Previously, Keely was intellectual capital director at The Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen that helps Fortune 500 companies drive growth strategies that are grounded in a deep understanding of consumer demand.  At The Cambridge Group, Keely was responsible for strengthening the firm's core intellectual capital that provides corporate clients with proprietary techniques for fully exploring current, emerging and latent consumer demand. She also led client engagements in consumer-facing industries including packaged goods, retail, and financial services.  

Before joining The Cambridge Group, Keely was a member of the Department of Economics faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and held research fellowships in economics at Oxford University and the Brookings Institution. She began her career with Bain & Company.

About The Demand Institute
The Demand Institute illuminates how consumer demand is evolving around the world.  We are on a mission to strengthen the growth and vitality of the global economy by helping public- and private-sector leaders align strategies and investments to where consumer demand is headed across industries, countries and markets. The Demand Institute is a non-advocacy, non-profit organization and a division of The Conference Board, which holds 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States.  The Demand Institute is jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. Our headquarters is in New York City, with a presence in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.demandinstitute.org

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. For more information, visit www.conference-board.org.

About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

SOURCE The Demand Institute