Dive Brief:
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Data analytics giant Nielsen named Chandler Bigelow CFO of its Global Connect business last week. Bigelow will oversee the Global Connect business' spinoff from the Nielsen brand.
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"At ... Nielsen Global Connect, it's abundantly clear that creating two separate companies makes sense to achieve successful outcomes for each business," Bigelow told CFO Dive in an interview. "Ultimately, I believe in the power of the Nielsen brand, and the important role the Nielsen Global Connect business currently plays in the consumer marketplace. Nielsen invented the concept of market share 95 years ago, and builds upon that innovation every day."
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Bigelow joins New York-based Nielsen from Tribune Media Company, where he was also CFO. During his 21-year tenure at Tribune Media, Bigelow oversaw all aspects of finance, including treasury, pension and risk management, investor relations, financial reporting, SEC reporting and compliance, internal audit and tax.
Dive Insight:
While at Tribune, Bigelow helped manage the successful spin-off of the company's newspaper publishing business, and served as Tribune's representative on the boards of CareerBuilder, Classified Ventures, TV Food Network and The Cooking Channel.
"My role will involve accelerating initiatives to become more efficient, and to work with the team to set up the Nielsen Global Connect business as a standalone company," he said. "Building on the legacy of the business, Nielsen Global Connect will be defining the next generation of consumer measurement. My role as CFO will be essential to fostering and embodying that charge."
Bigelow believes it has never been more important for CFOs to be adaptable and able to excel in times of uncertainty. "Marrying practicality with visionary leadership is a requirement for success in our 'new normal' world," he said.
Bigelow says his onboarding experience, while 100% virtual, has been smooth. "It helps that Nielsen Global Connect is a global business, operating in over 100 countries, and employees are very comfortable with virtual interactions," he said. "My interview process was good preparation for the global, virtual nature of the job."
Many of the members of Nielsen Global Connect's finance team work remotely from different countries. The organization was incredibly adept at using video conferencing pre-pandemic, Bigelow said, "and I am taking advantage of that capability to quickly get to know the team and better understand the business."
The good news, he said, is that Nielsen is proving both resilient and relevant during these challenging times.