Jessica Holscott, a veteran of Warner businesses including HBO, has been named chief financial officer of Nielsen. She will report to CEO Karthik Rao.
“Jessica is a proven, world-class financial leader and we are fortunate to have her join Nielsen at such an important time,” said Rao, in a prepared statement. “Within the past year we have introduced several groundbreaking products for our clients as we continue to be the leader in TV measurement and streaming TV data. As we continue to innovate and add even more advanced ad tech offerings to our suite, Jessica’s strategic vision and experience will be key for our evolution.”
Holscott will oversee Nielsen’s financial activities around the world, and will also lead the company’s information technology, corporate development, and global strategy functions.
She joins Nielsen as it is grappling with big changes in one of its main businesses, measuring media audiences. Big clients such as Paramount Global have called Nielsen out for not moving quickly enough when it comes to tabulating audiences who use streaming services. For its part, Nieslen has in recent months added some first-party data, information from connected-TV devices and out of home viewing to its technology.
Holscott was most recently the CFO of Spotter, a creator focused company. Before that, she was a CFO and executive vice president for Warner Media, where she supervised all aspects of finance. She was also a CFO and executive vice president for HBO. She also worked for a stint as head of investor relations for Time Warner. She began her career at General Electric, where she rose through the ranks from corporate audit to Chief of Staff to the Vice Chairman and CFO.
“I am honored to join Nielsen as CFO at such a transformational time for the company and industry,” Holscott said in a statement. “Nielsen continues to raise the bar when it comes to innovation and I’m thrilled to work alongside Karthik and my fellow leaders to keep the momentum going as the leader in audience measurement.”
Holscott replaces Warren Jenson, who retired in August 2024. Cindy Fernandez. who has served as interim CFO, will remain with the company.