Marketing and data analytics company Kantar has hired Rebecca Symondson as general counsel, replacing Rachel Clarke who has moved to another role within the broader Kantar group.

Symondson joins from Vodafone where she was group legal director for corporate, commercial and compliance, leading a global team of 70 professionals. At Kantar, she will be responsible for all legal matters. She will take up her new role in London on 1 October and will report directly to CEO Chris Jansen.

London-headquartered Kantar is an international market research company and is co-owned by US private equity firm Bain Capital and advertising giant WPP, after WPP sold a 60% stake in the business to Bain in 2019.

Jansen said: “[Symondson] brings considerable experience that I know will have a very positive impact on our business. We’re confident that Rebecca’s leadership will be instrumental in, not only improving our legal operations, but also achieving our strategic objectives and driving continued growth into the future.”

Symondson spent roughly four and a half years at Vodafone, having joined from defunct UK travel group Thomas Cook where she worked her way up group GC, having originally started as senior legal counsel. She previously worked in private practice for close to eight years at Slaughter and May.

She said: “Having met a number of leaders from across the business, I am looking forward to being part of such a dynamic team. I am inspired by Kantar’s clear purpose and commitment to culture which resonate with my personal and professional values. This is an exciting time to come on board and I look forward to contributing to Kantar’s continued success and growth.”

Clarke, meantime, has taken up the GC role at Kantar Media, the group’s standalone media measurement business. She has been with Kantar since 2019, initially joining as senior legal counsel before becoming deputy GC of the Americas in April 2023 and then GC of the wider group in November.

Prior to joining Kantar, she worked in private practice at Reed Smith for just over a year. She previously had in-house roles at Volvo Group and Carlsberg Group (both as senior legal counsel) and Alliance Medical (as legal counsel), her first in-house role. Before that she worked at UK law firms including Gateley, Gowling WLG and Shakespeare Martineau.