SSI’s CEO Kees de Jong transitions to new role

SHELTON, Connecticut, USA, May 16, 2012—SSI announced today that CEO Kees de Jong has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective June 29th 2012. De Jong’s area of focus will be strategic development. Additionally he will continue to play a key role in SSI’s thought leadership in online and offline sampling and data collection methods and support the expansion of SSI’s partnerships.
De Jong (43), entrepreneur, market research veteran and founder of European based Bloomerce Access Panels (acquired by SSI in 2005) has held the CEO position for 3.5 years. During that period he successfully structured the company to be a unified global organization delivering strong, organic growth in both revenue and profitability. Key in that development was the creation of a strong management team and the significant investments in technology that created SSI’s revolutionary online sampling platform SSI Dynamix™. In 2011 SSI successfully merged with Opinionology, giving the new organization unique global online and offline capabilities.
The Board has appointed Chris Fanning to succeed De Jong in the position of Chief Executive Officer. Fanning, who joined SSI in February 2012 as President and COO brings 25 years of experience in business management, executive leadership, strategic planning and operational roles. Prior to SSI, he served as interim CEO of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, having first joined the company in 1997 as Director, Strategic Planning before being promoted to various senior roles including VP, Strategic Planning and VP, Software and IP Solutions. Prior to Lattice, Fanning worked for The Boston Consulting Group as a Consultant and Project Leader out of their Chicago office.
Commented De Jong: “I’m excited about my new role and the appointment of Chris as my successor. Chris brings the experience and skills to continue to strengthen the organization and lead SSI into its next chapter of growth. Leading SSI over the past years has been an enormously exciting and rewarding experience. The panel, sample and data collection market is in continuous flux, and SSI is now one of the strongest players with the most advanced sampling science and technology in the industry and the best people to service its clients.”
Fanning comments: “I look forward to building upon the foundation that has been put in place by Kees and the team and growing SSI into the number one player in the industry. We have a great team that is focused on innovation and service, and I am excited at the significant opportunity ahead for the company and its stakeholders.”

About SSI…
SSI is the premier global provider of sampling solutions and data collection for survey research. SSI reaches respondents in 72 countries via Internet, telephone and mobile/wireless. Value-add services include questionnaire design consultation, programming and hosting, and data processing. SSI serves more than 2,000 clients, including 48 of the top 50 research organizations. Founded in 1977, SSI employees 1,300 people throughout 30 offices in 15 countries