Nielson recruits Sandra Sims-Williams as Senior VP of D&I

Nielson has announced that it has hired Sandra Sims-Williams as Senior Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), beginning January 2020. In this role, Sims-Williams will ‘lead Nielsen’s D&I strategy and teams for both the Media and Connect sides of the business, through Nielsen’s transition into two independent, publicly traded companies’. As Senior Vice President of D&I, she will join the company’s executive leadership team and report to Nielsen’s Chief Executive Officer, David Kenny.

“Diversity & Inclusion are essential to everything we do at Nielsen. Fostering a culture that is diverse and inclusive, and that is reflected in our products and offering, is the guiding force and a significant differentiator for our company,” said Kenny. “That’s why we’re excited to have Sandra, a transformational leader with 30 years of experience linking diversity and inclusion strategies with corporate initiatives that drive diversity and inclusion cross-functionally, join our team, as we continue driving forward with our systemic diversity and inclusion initiatives,” he added.

DEEP D&I EXPERIENCE 

Prior to joining Nielsen, Sims-Williams led D&I efforts at Publicis Groupe as Chief Diversity Officer and has a deep background in diverse leadership development, retention programming, analytics and effectiveness, supplier diversity, multicultural talent acquisition, and corporate initiatives that drive diversity and inclusion cross-functionally. 

Earlier this year, she made the Black Enterprise Top Corporate Executives list and SAVOY Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Corporate America list. She has also featured in The Inaugural Champion, Adweek & ADCOLOR. Sims-Williams is a member of The Advertising Industry’s Diversity Steering Committee and serves on the boards of New York Women in Communication, Advertising Club of New York and ColorComm.

Commenting on her new appointment, Sims-Williams, stated: “I am proud to be joining the Nielsen team and continuing to leverage diversity and inclusion as key elements for growth and leadership. I look forward to working with and supporting Nielsen’s talented teams as we enter the next chapter of the company’s transformation into two independent, publicly-traded companies.”