Michael Link, a former senior vice president from global marketing research firm Nielsen, has joined Bethesda, Maryland-based services contractor Abt Associates as president and CEO of its public policy research subsidiary Abt SRBI, the parent company said Monday.
Silver Spring-headquartered Abt SRBI conducts opinion surveys and other behavioral studies for government agencies, businesses and private nonprofit organizations.
Link served as chief behavior methodologist and SVP of a data science institute at Nielsen,  where he led external research operations such as a Singapore-based digital and economic research hub the firm created in collaboration with the Singapore Economic Development Board.
Prior to Nielsen, Link worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as senior behavioral methodologist and research and methods team leader and also previously held a similar role at RTI International.
“Michael is a visionary thought leader on the convergence of survey research and data science as well as a successful business executive with a deep understanding of the public and private sector aspects of the survey and data research industry, †said Jay Knott, executive vice president and chief business officer at Abt Associates.
Link is also former president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.
