RED C Research, Ireland's leading independent market research firm, has appointed Darren Hanson as head of client strategy based at its London office. The appointment, announced today, represents a significant strategic hire for the Dublin-founded company as it seeks to expand its presence and influence within the UK market and drive growth across its international operations. Hanson brings more than 25 years of experience spanning both client-side and agency roles, with particular expertise in translating customer insight into commercial strategy and business growth.
The appointment reflects RED C's emphasis on deepening client relationships and expanding its advisory capabilities at a time when organisations increasingly demand not just research data but actionable strategic guidance. Hanson will work alongside RED C's senior leadership to help clients extract greater value from their investment in market research and insight. In a statement, the company said his experience on both sides of the research divide gives him a deep understanding of how organisations struggle to convert insight into action. RED C founder and chief executive Richard Colwell emphasized that in an environment where businesses face mounting pressure to make confident decisions amid constant change, Hanson's perspective would help clients realize greater value from research investments. Hanson himself expressed enthusiasm for the role, noting that RED C's reputation for combining robust insight with strategic thinking aligns with the evolving needs of modern organisations facing complex decisions with multiple stakeholders and heightened expectations around commercial impact.
Hanson's career reflects a rare combination of deep market research expertise and corporate experience in customer-driven sectors. He spent over a decade at Orange, the multinational telecommunications group, where he served as director of strategic consumer insights and segmentation. During his tenure at Orange, he was responsible for identifying emergent research techniques and new thinking to support corporate teams while ensuring consumer research remained relevant and valued within the organisation. In that role, he earned recognition for his methodological sophistication and stakeholder management; industry colleagues noted his ability to identify the most effective research partners, determine which data sources would drive maximum impact, and align outputs with organisational decision-makers. His experience at Orange, one of the world's most customer-centric major telecommunications operators, gave him extensive exposure to managing research at scale across domestic and international markets. Beyond his corporate roles, Hanson has held various positions within the market research and consulting sectors, building a track record of working across technology, telecommunications and other data-intensive industries. He holds a degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
RED C was founded in 2003 by Colwell and has grown to become Ireland's largest independent market research agency, operating from offices in Dublin, Dundalk and London. The firm is known primarily for its high-profile political polling work, including monthly tracking polls published by the Business Post, though corporate market research represents the majority of its revenue. In 2016, RED C established its UK operation in partnership with market research practitioners Richard Barton and Charlotte Butterworth, and has since built a fast-growing business serving global entertainment, retail and fast-moving consumer goods brands with particular expertise in youth audiences. The company also acquired Relish Research in 2023, expanding its capabilities. RED C positions itself as a full-service research provider with in-house fieldwork, call centre capabilities and its own online research panel, employing close to 50 staff across its Irish offices and operating in over 50 countries annually.
The hire suggests RED C is prioritizing commercial growth and client-side advisory services at a moment when the broader market research industry faces structural pressures from automation, data consolidation and client demands for more integrated consulting rather than discrete research projects. By appointing someone with Orange's stature and client-side perspective to its UK operation, RED C appears to be repositioning itself as a strategic partner capable of addressing enterprise-level business challenges rather than simply delivering research commodities. Hanson's mandate to help drive the next phase of growth for the company implies both an internal transformation in how RED C engages with clients and a market opportunity in the UK, where full-service research consultancies compete increasingly on their ability to demonstrate commercial impact. The timing, coming amid continued consolidation and digital transformation across professional services sectors, suggests RED C is betting that sophisticated clients will place greater value on deep customer understanding paired with strategic business acumen.
