Nielsen Holding announced that David Rawlinson has been appointed CEO of Nielsen Connect, which will become a separate company after it is spun off separately from Nielsen’s media measurement business.
Rawlinson, whose appointment is effective Feb. 3, had been senior VP of W.W. Grainger Inc., and president of its global online business. He also served on Nielsen’s board and audit committee. He has resigned from the audit committed.
He will have a base salary of $900,000 for 2020 and it will increase to $1 million effective Jan. 1, 2021. He can also receive incentive pay of $1.25 million in 2020 and $1.5 million in 2021. There are also long-term incentives and a make-who payment covering incentives foregone at Grainger worth $595,000.
Nielsen also named Linda Zukauckas CFO. She will remain CFO of Nielsen's global media business when the separation takes place. Zukauckas had been executive VP and deputy chief financial officer of American Express. She’s also a manger of the board of MTS Systems Corp.
Zukauckas’ annual base salary will be $800,000, with the chance at incentives of $900,000, plus additional long-term incentives. She will also get $1 million to compensate her for the loss of an incentive award at American Express.
“Both David and Linda bring a wealth of relevant and valuable experience to Nielsen. Both will have a great deal of impact on the current company and will have significant roles in the new companies moving forward. We are very excited that they have agreed to join us at this dynamic time for Nielsen,” said Nielsen CEO David Kenny.
