Long-time audience measurement and TV ratings giant Nielsen has added a C-suite position to squarely focus on needs of its clients and hired seasoned ad sales leader Peter Naylor to the new role as chief client officer.
Announced Wednesday, as client chief Naylor will serve as a key partner for Nielsen customers, including publishers across traditional TV and digital channels. Per the release, Naylor’s tasked with ensuring the measurement company is meeting client needs as well as working with Nielsen’s sales, product and research teams to help partners enhance their business.
Naylor will report to Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao.
“The key to Nielsen’s continued success is working closely with our clients to build the best marketing intelligence platform in the world,” said Rao in a statement. “Peter is the perfect person to help that mission, building on Nielsen’s momentum of Big Data + Panel measurement, live streaming innovation and our AI transformation. He has led teams across linear TV, streaming and social media. He knows what consumers and clients want - and need - as behaviors continue to evolve. We can’t wait to keep building with him and our partners.”
It marks a notable name joining Nielsen’s C-suite, as Naylor was previously at Netflix as the SVOD giant’s first VP of Global Advertising Sales, helping to build its first sales, research and creative services team. Naylor joined Netflix in 2022 when the streamer initially made its foray into the advertising sphere. However, he exited Netflix in mid-2024, which followed an earlier departure by ad sales exec Jeremi Gorman.
Prior to Netflix, Naylor led sales for the Americas at Snap, where he helped drive revenue by 50% during his time there, per Nielsen. Before that Naylor was SVP of Advertising Sales at Hulu, helping to establish ad-supported streaming ad models and practices.
Earlier this year Naylor joined the board of advertising company Cadent.
The new role and addition of Naylor at Nielsen comes as the measurement giant has continued to fall under industry scrutiny. That includes a public call out by the NFL’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer, who ahead of the league’s current football season told the WSJ “there are millions of viewers that we believe they are systematically undercounting.”
But Nielsen has been working to make progress on its measurement data, including the introduction of its Big Data + Panel product as well as expansions to out-of-home (OOH) measurement, among others.
“Nielsen’s partners represent the very best of advertising and media. I am thrilled to be in a position to support them and the markets we serve during this dynamic time in media,” said Naylor in a statement. “As a Nielsen customer for over 20 years, I will tap into my experience to help clients find even more success with Nielsen data, while also sharing partners’ needs to develop even better world class products at Nielsen."
Newer measurement vendors that have emerged in recent years and aim to serve as alternatives to Nielsen have also been adding to their ranks. Last month iSpot announced former Rakuten Rewards exec Julie Van Ullen as the measurement provider’s new chief revenue officer.