Gardner, who previously held the position of client sales director, will now take on overall responsibility for all client acquisition and retention, encompassing the new business role held by Mark Cunningham who left to pursue other projects.
Gardner brings 10 years of experience to the company with sales experience at The Leaflet Company and heading up the list management division of Consumer Access/Consodata. She will continue to report to managing director Thomas Adalbert.
The role was created to help the company with its growth plans for the future.
"Julie was an obvious choice for this role with her extensive experience of the marketplace as well as her sales and commercial skills," Adalbert said.
The Preference Service was launched with the backing of the Royal Mail and TPG in October 2000 and collects consumer preference data from 7m UK consumers with 850 clients, which include Barclaycard, Carphone Warehouse, Daily Mail and Volkswagen.
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