Ipsos Group S.A. (French pronunciation: [ip.sos]; an acronym of Institut Public de Sondage d'Opinion Secteur) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Paris Stock Exchange since July 1, 1999. Since 1990, the Group has created or acquired numerous companies. In October 2011, Ipsos acquired Synovate, resulting in a Ipsos organization that ranks as the world’s third largest research agency. As of 2014, Ipsos has offices in 88 countries, employing 16,530 people.