Michael Schwarz, Chief Economist of Microsoft, Joins AYTM Board of Directors

Innovative consumer insights technology company welcomes strategic luminary to help inform its continued growth.

AYTM (Ask Your Target Market), a leader in consumer insights automation technology and the secret weapon that drives agile innovation for some of the worlds largest consumer brands, advertising agencies and marketing consultancies announced today that Michael Schwarz, Chief Economist and Corporate Vice President of Microsoft, has joined as their newest Board Member.

Michael was first introduced to AYTM several years ago as a client. “I was blown away by the ease of use and accuracy of the data. It took me less than 20 minutes to put together and launch my first survey. In less than an hour, the survey was completed and the results were automatically and beautifully tabulated,” says Schwarz. 

Schwarz, who currently leads economics at Microsoft has a team of economists and data scientists that primarily engage in three areas: (1) Demand Forecasting (2) Product Pricing and Discounting and (3) Market Design. His team also engages in a variety of other topics such as antitrust issues, zero-carbon energy, and they support the Microsoft sales organization engagements with governments and their largest customers. 

“We are delighted to see a true digital innovator join our board,” says AYTM CEO Lev Mazin. “With a wealth of professional experience and a deep understanding of the forces that will shape the next decade, Michael brings to the table world-class economics and business perspectives, strategic wisdom and a brilliant mind.”

Before joining Microsoft, Michael worked at Google for six years in various roles. Most recently he was the Chief Economist for Google Cloud. Prior to that he led a team at Google Strategic Technology that built a carpooling platform. The technology was transferred to Waze and launched as Waze Carpool, where Schwarz then became the Chief Scientist. 

With a background focused on building efficiencies and cutting down on transportation waste, Michael was very intrigued by AYTM’s 100% remote work environment. “I have always found the environmental and social cost of millions of people driving to an office that could be easily replicated at home disturbing. One of the things I admire about AYTM is their approach to tackling the transportation problem in a truly radical way. I look forward to learning more about the organizational structure and zero commute framework that makes it possible for AYTM employees to feel connected, and be productive, while working from remote locations around the globe,” say Schwarz.  

Prior to his tenure at Google, Michael was the head of the economics research unit at Yahoo! where he played a critical role in designing Yahoo! ad marketplaces. He started his professional life as a faculty member at Harvard University’s Economics Department and he holds a PhD from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

“AYTM is an interesting company with a unique approach to online research. Their 3x growth year-over-year without traditional private equity or venture capital backing, shows the industry is ready to embrace digital transformation as a way to drive innovation. I am personally very excited to be a part of their continued success,” says Schwartz.

About AYTM

AYTM is a consumer insights platform and the secret weapon that drives agile innovation for some of the largest consumer brands and agencies in the world. Researchers are empowered to conduct sophisticated research with a click of a button from a powerful but easy to use interface - cutting down the time to insights from days or weeks to hours. To learn more about AYTM and its innovative research platform, please visit http://www.aytm.com.