Vaden will be responsible for all North American research, sales and operations units in addition to his ongoing leadership of the global research operations, internet panel management and information technology terms.
Gregory Novak, president and chief executive of Harris Interactive, said: "As the company continues to focus more attention on European growth and global expansion, the US business must have a dedicated leader who can rapidly respond to the demands of this fast-paced environment."
"David's long record of past successes has been propelled by his extraordinary ability to analyse problems and then lead teams to quickly solve them. Because of that history and his deep understanding of our business, I believe he will make significant improvements in our North American business."
Vaden moves to this new role from the position of executive vice president, chief operations officer. Vaden joined Harris Interactive in 2000 and has served the company in a variety of roles including senior vice president of business development and internet services and executive vice president of operations and chief strategy officer.
Prior to joining Harris Interactive, Vaden was a manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions.
The company has offices in the US, Europe and Asia and wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer in Germany.