Smarty Pants Hires Media Researcher Michael Desmarais

US-based youth and family researcher Smarty Pants has hired long-time ViacomCBS exec Michael Desmarais as Vice President, based in Los Angeles.

The company, which has headquarters in Johnson City, TN and offices in seven other US cities, works on brand positioning, new product development, consumer lifestyle and trend research. Desmarais (pictured) joins from Paramount Pictures, where he served as VP, Market Research, leading MR and consumer insights for all the studio's domestic motion picture releases. Before this, he spent more than a decade at ViacomCBS, latterly as SVP, Brand & Consumer Insights responsible for consumer insights and strategy for the MTV, VH1 and Logo networks. Earlier, he was a Director at the Henley Centre (now Kantar Consulting), having begun his career in planning roles at ad agencies DMB&B and Grey.

Commenting on the appointment, Smarty Pants founder and CEO Wynne Tyree said: 'We are thrilled to welcome Michael to our team. His research and business savvy have already been instrumental in guiding our top food and beverage, toy and game, entertainment, and healthcare clients. And his innovation and organizational insights are helping us attract and retain the best talent, enhance creative offerings, refine operations and ensure our culture remains unchanged.'

Web site: www.asksmartypants.com .