Knight Shift for Former LEGO Researcher

In the US, kids and family researcher Julie Katz has joined specialist agency Smarty Pants in the role of Insights Jedi (yes). Katz was previously Consumer Insights Manager at the LEGO Group.

She spent five years at the toy giant, 'travelling the world' in search of new trends and insights, and her accomplishments include leading the primary research behind the launch of LEGO Minecraft, and leading shopper research throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Before LEGO, she worked at Forrester Research on projects in retail, media, CPG and tech; and earlier at not-for-profit organizations including Facing History and Ourselves, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the National Center on Family Homelessness.

Katz studied child language acquisition at Cornell University, the école des Hautes études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and holds an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In her new role, she is based in New Haven, CT.

Company President Wynne Tyree says such talent comes along rarely: 'With advanced degrees from Cornell and Harvard, qualitative and quantitative expertise, digital and trend savvy, and more than 15 years of leadership experience as a youth and family marketer, Julie embodies what it means to be a Smarty Pants'.

Earlier this year, the company appointed Amie Turrill Owens as Head of Syndicated Research, and Charles DeGregario as 'Qualitative Research Guru'.

Web site: www.asksmartypants.com .