NEW YORK, NY – April 23, 2026 – Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business, today announced the appointment of Mary Pat Simpson as Vice President, Growth and Strategy, Automotive.
The appointment reflects Kantar’s renewed investment in automotive and comes at a pivotal moment for the automotive industry, when brands are navigating unprecedented disruption, need clearer signals, stronger brand differentiation, and evidence‑based confidence to grow. Recent Kantar BrandZ data shows that automotive has become one of the hardest categories to become meaningfully differentiated, especially as functional advantages (range, safety features, tech) are rapidly copied across competitors. Over nearly 20 years (2006–2025), automotive brands with “Extra Difference” outperformed peers by +15% brand value growth, while those without it underperformed by about 20% versus the category average.
To help automotive brands turn that evidence into action, Kantar is relaunching its Detroit office, bringing Kantar’s intelligence engine to the center of the automotive industry and providing boots-on-the-ground support for automotive partners’ evolving needs.
In her role, Simpson will work closely with automotive manufacturers and mobility brands to translate Kantar’s brand intelligence into decisive growth strategies. Simpson most recently served at General Motors, where she led Cross-Tier for GM’s Digital Dealer Solutions team, creating new ways to interact with consumers via National, Retail, and Dealer marketing initiatives. Her career further spans senior roles at leading advertising agencies and platforms, giving her unique knowledge of the marketing ecosystem within automotive.
"Automotive marketers are dealing with three disruptions at once: the EV transition, media fragmentation, and AI reshaping how consumers research and decide," said Simpson. "I joined Kantar because its data can cut through that noise. Brands that understand where they're truly differentiated -- and where they're not -- will have a real advantage in the next three years."
Based in Detroit, Simpson is deeply connected to the automotive marketing community and is an active member of Adcraft Detroit and the Detroit Advertising Association. She is also passionate about mentoring and supporting inclusive growth, both within the industry and beyond.
“Mary Pat brings a rare combination of category fluency and customer expertise,” said Lindsey Dickman, EVP, Finance, Health & Auto Industry Partner at Kantar North America. “Paired with Kantar’s brand intelligence, her leadership strengthens our ability to help automotive marketers focus on what matters most and invest with confidence.”
Learn more about how Kantar can help you accomplish your brand and growth goals here.
About Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business. We deliver the intelligence needed to power brand growth. We provide the signals that help organizations act quickly and confidently. We empower brands to make effective marketing decisions based on predictive evidence. And we help them craft powerful growth strategies rooted in the connection between consumers, brands and enterprise value. All this is powered by our uniquely robust human and synthetic data, our unrivalled IP, our AI-native platform and the team of global brand experts that bring this all together.