WILTON, Conn., June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) today named technology veteran James Powell Global Chief Technology Officer effective July 6, 2015.  Powell joins the company from Thomson Reuters where he was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. 

Powell brings to Nielsen 20 years of experience as a senior technology leader.  Twelve of those years were with Thomson Reuters where Powell devised and drove transformational technological change for the company. At Nielsen, Powell will be responsible for directing the technology, engineering and data science teams as the company drives towards a more accessible, interoperable and nimble future.

"James' proven ability to deliver will be a critical asset as we continue to leverage emerging technologies to strengthen the power of our data assets. Nielsen has a strong technology foundation, and James' expertise will be a significant boost to our overall technology strategy," said Brian West, Nielsen Chief Operating Officer, to whom Powell will report.

"Nielsen's global reputation for gold standard data combined with its position in a swiftly evolving marketplace and leading edge technology partners made this a rare opportunity," said Powell. 

In addition to his time at Thomson Reuters, Powell has held technology and data positions at Solace Systems, Citadel Investment Group and TIBCO Finance Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Robotics from Imperial College London, England.                

About Nielsen
Nielsen N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers Watch and Buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services across all devices where content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen provides its clients with both world-class measurement as well as analytics that help improve performance.  Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries that cover more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

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SOURCE Nielsen