POLLING guru Robert Worcester, the founder of MORI and advisor to Prime Ministers, has become a director of the Kent Messenger Group.

He is one of four appointments to the full KMG board -- Prof Worcester, Martin Phippen, Geraldine Allinson and Duncan Gray. The company has also announced a new head of radio.

Professor Worcester, who lives near Maidstone, was born in the United States but spent most of his life in Kent.

He founded Mori (Market and Opinion Research International), one of the world's leading polling and marketing organisations, in 1969. As a Kent Ambassador, he promotes the county at home and abroad.

He is a member of the University of Kent council and visiting professor at a number of leading academic institutions, including the London School of Economics where he is also a governor. He has honorary degrees from several universities, including Greenwich.

Married with two children, he is a regular broadcaster and has given polling advice to Prime Ministers including Harold Wilson, John Major and Tony Blair. He has been a consultant to The Times and The Economist.

He recently gave the inaugural Kent Chartered Institute of Marketing Lecture at the Ramada Hotel, Hollingbourne, on "Harnessing the Power of Corporate and Brand Energy”.

Solicitor Martin Phippen, 61, has joined Prof Worcester as a non-executive director. He said he was "really thrilled" to be appointed to the KMG board.

He has been a legal adviser to the KMG for many years. Mr Phippen is chairman of Lark FM, the KMG-backed consortium bidding for the Ashford local radio licence.

He was born in Somerset and left school at 16. The father-of-two from Hollingbourne has lived in Kent since 1960 when he moved from the West Country to join the Maidstone law firm of Argles as a junior conveyancing clerk.

He later went on to take articles and was made a partner in 1976. In 1989, he set up his own practice Stoodley Phippen in Ashford before selling to Girlings in 2003.

Mr Phippen is a prominent figure in business circles, both as chairman of Ashford Chamber of Commerce and a member of Kent Executive Club.

Geraldine Allinson and Duncan Gray have both been promoted from associate directors to the board.

Mrs Allinson, 37, was born in Kent and has spent most of her life in the county. She worked for newspapers outside Kent before joining KMG in 1993.

She supports a number of charitable organisation and is a trustee of the H R Pratt Boorman Family Foundation, She is married, has two children, and lives with her family in Charing.

Duncan Gray, 43, has been promoted to production director. He started his career in newspapers with Westminster Press and joined KMG in 1979 as an advertisement sales executive.

Mr Gray spent two years as sales director with a family firm before returning to KMG to head the pre-press operation.

In 1998 he became operations manager in charge of production and distribution, and three years later was appointed production associate director responsible for 170 staff.

Mr Gray is married to Sally and lives in Gravesend.