Cowling, who stood down as chairman at the end of 2005, was a founder of TNS in 1965, before taking on the chief executive and then chairman role and helping to build TNS into one of the leading market research companies.
David Lowden, chief executive of TNS, said: "I am delighted that Tony will continue to be part of TNS and that we can still benefit from his advice and consultancy on strategic issues, and from his considerable knowledge around specific sectors of our business."
The appointment comes as Cowling has been awarded the market Research Society's rarely awarded Gold Medal for his outstanding lifetime achievement and contribution to the market research industry.
In a career spanning five decades, Cowling has been an active member of the Market Research Society's Professional Standards Committee and was instrumental in helping to build the Association of Market Survey Organisations.
More recently, he helped to build, and was appointed president of, the Voice of the People project. The group regularly collects information on major world issues such as poverty, health, the environment and human rights, to make world leaders aware of the views of the people on such issues.
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