June 2009
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, June 15, 2009 – The Nielsen Supervisory Board of Directors has appointed James M. Kilts as its Chairman. Mr. Kilts, 61, is a founding partner of Centerview Partners and has served on The Nielsen Company Supervisory Board since November 23, 2006. Centerview Partners’ private equity fund has a minority ownership position in Nielsen. Kilts’ appointment became effective on May 21, 2009. He succeeds Dudley G. Eustace.
“Jim is an extraordinary executive whom I’ve always admired and we’ve been delighted to have him on our board the past two and a half years,” said Nielsen Chairman and CEO David L. Calhoun. “With Jim serving as Chairman of our Supervisory Board, we will continue to benefit from his guidance and leadership.”
“It’s been a pleasure working with Dave Calhoun and Nielsen’s senior management team,” said James M. Kilts. “I look forward to continuing my involvement with The Nielsen Company in a more senior role.”
Prior to joining Centerview Partners, Kilts was Vice Chairman of the Board, The Procter & Gamble Company. Mr. Kilts was formerly Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Gillette Company before the company’s merger with Procter & Gamble in October 2005.
A member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College, Kilts serves on the Board of Trustees of Knox College and the University of Chicago where he is Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Booth School of Business.
The University of Chicago is home to The Kilts Center for Marketing. The Kilts Center for Marketing sponsors a wide variety of basic and applied research in marketing and houses a repository of public databases used for academic research on marketing issues. The Nielsen Company has established a relationship with the Kilts Center to provide certain of its data for academic research.
Prior to Gillette, Mr. Kilts served at different times as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabisco, Executive Vice President of the Worldwide Food group of Philip Morris, President of Kraft USA and Oscar Mayer, President of Kraft Limited in Canada, and Senior Vice President of Kraft International.
A graduate of Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, Mr. Kilts earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago. Mr. Kilts is currently a member of the Board of Directors of MetLife, MeadWestvaco and Pfizer.