Griffiths, who spent 10 years at ITV and previously worked for publisher Emap, will join Kantar on Jan. 16, replacing Robert Bowtell who had been in the role since 2001.
During his time at ITV, Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, Griffiths helped to reduce the company's reliance on volatile advertising revenue by building its online and production business, during a tough decade for the industry.
The announcement comes at a turning point for Kantar: in December private equity group Bain completed its purchase of a 60% stake in the group, while former owner WPP retained the rest.
Long-time chief executive, Eric Salama, also said in December that he would step down during 2020. He told the Financial Times this was a personal decision after he was stabbed in an attempted carjacking in London in January 2019.
Salama said Griffiths, who is 53, would bring a wealth of experience to Kantar, which provides data and analytics on consumers in more than 100 countries.
"His track record in dealing with public markets and delivering strong returns for shareholders, both as CFO and COO, will be important to Kantar as we embark on the next stage of our growth journey," he said.
By Elizabeth Howcroft
