Weather Co Hires Kuist to Lead Insights and Innovation

In New York, The Weather Company has appointed Chris Kuist as Vice President of Insights and Innovation, responsible for a cross-platform insights program to support the advertising sales arm of the business.

Owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and private equity firms Blackstone group and Bain Capital, The Weather Company provides millions of people with daily world weather forecasts, content and data.

Kuist (pictured) joins from Viacom Media Networks, where as Senior Director in the Strategic Insights and Research group he was charged with designing measurement strategies for the firm's digital properties, mobile devices and platforms, while helping design and test methodologies for cross-platform measurement. He joined the firm in 2001 as a Sales Assistant for MTV Networks, before moving into the role of Director of Digital Ad Sales Research at Viacom.

In his new position, Kuist will use consumer insights and marketplace intelligence to drive advertiser effectiveness initiatives - his role includes the establishment of a cross-functional insights taskforce. He will report to Indira Venkat, SVP Strategic Research, who welcomes his 'strong background across both linear and digital platforms', and comments: 'I'm thrilled for Chris to join The Weather Company during a time when cross-platform insights are becoming increasingly important for the business.'

Web site: www.weather.com .