NPD names home improvement director

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — The NPD Group Inc. has named Kevin Gilbert as director of home improvement, reporting to Perry James, the president of home and office supplies.

Prior to joining NPD, Gilbert was VP client solutions at SymphonyIRI, where he managed the Diageo and Kraft accounts. In addition to his role at SymphonyIRI, Gilbert spent many years in the packaged goods industry in category management, sales development, and trade planning roles, working with such companies as Kellogg, Bayer, and Pinnacle Foods.

In his new role, Gilbert’s key focus will be to develop and launch a new point-of-sale (POS) service for the home improvement business.

“Kevin’s strong syndicated marketing research and point-of-sale background will certainly make our focus on a new home improvement POS service a reality,” said James. “Our home improvement team looks forward to working with Kevin as we continue to build the business.”