UK pollster YouGov eyes Levings as next CEO, Sky News reports

July 19 (Reuters) - British polling firm YouGov is considering Wayne Levings, the former head of market research firm Kantar's operations, as one of the candidates to succeed co-founder and interim Chief Executive Officer Stephan Shakespeare, Sky News reported on Sunday.

Levings spent nearly two decades at Kantar, including as chief executive of its UK and Ireland business, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The search for a new chief executive comes as the London-listed company looks to revive growth and improve performance after warning in March that fiscal 2026 profit would fall due to additional investment in its struggling Shopper division.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. YouGov declined to comment.

YouGov has reshuffled its leadership in recent months, with former ITV finance chief Ian Griffiths becoming chair in June and CFO Alex McIntosh leaving earlier this year. Activist investor Gatemore Capital successfully pushed for the removal of CEO Steve Hatch last year after an 18-month tenure.

YouGov, which provides brand-tracking and marketing campaign analytics, is contending with a slowdown in advertising spending as companies reassess budgets amid the growing adoption of AI tools.

(Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)