VNU Puts Veteran of GE in Charge
VNU, the market research and media conglomerate whose properties include Nielsen ratings, Billboard and Hollywood Reporter, on Wednesday named coveted General Electric Co. veteran David Calhoun as its new leader.
Calhoun, 49, was a surprise choice to become chief executive of VNU, the privately held Dutch company that was bought in July by a group of six investment firms, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Blackstone Group.
As vice chairman of GE and the head of its unit that makes jet engines, power generators and other energy and transportation products, Calhoun ran an operation that dwarfed VNU’s $4.3 billion in sales last year.
But Calhoun, a 27-year GE employee who was mentored by former Chairman Jack Welch and rose through the ranks, was drawn by the opportunity to test his entrepreneurial skills at a company in transition.
“I know many people expected that when I left GE, it would be to run a big public company,” Calhoun said in a statement e-mailed to GE investors. “But that was never really what motivated me.... I am excited by the chance to work in the fast-paced media and information industry and to help VNU’s clients win.”
The executive, who follows interim CEO Rob Ruijter at VNU, declined a request for an interview.
Calhoun was courted for several top corporate posts in recent years. In deciding to leave GE, he joins a notable group of alumni who have become chief executives of major corporations, including Lawrence Johnston of Albertsons Inc., James McNerney of Boeing Co. and Robert Nardelli of Home Depot Inc.
Although Calhoun has no background in running a media business, he is familiar with the workings of GE’s NBC Universal unit, analysts noted.
Calhoun has a reputation as an energetic, motivational leader with a knack for integrating and streamlining operations.
“He’s had tremendous success at GE across a variety of business lines,” VNU spokesman Will Thoretz said. “Only the scale is different.”
After joining GE’s corporate auditing staff, Calhoun went on to management posts at the company’s lighting and insurance divisions. In mid-2005 he took over GE Infrastructure, whose sales this year are projected to reach $47 billion. The division is GE’s biggest and fastest-growing, producing more than one-fourth of its revenue.
Originally a publishing company, VNU has stabilized its revenue in recent years by shifting its focus to market research.
VNU, whose main offices are in New York and the Netherlands, has 41,000 employees worldwide. In 1999, it bought Nielsen Media Research, which measures TV viewing, radio airplay and other entertainment data, and two years later it acquired ACNielsen, which tracks retail sales.
Its trade publications Hollywood Reporter and Billboard cover the movie and music industries. VNU sells research to Hollywood studios through Nielsen EDI, which tracks movie box-office data, and NRG, which gauges audience interest in upcoming films.
To ramp up growth at VNU, Calhoun’s challenge will be to help marketers reach their target customers in a fragmented, rapidly changing media environment.
GE named John Rice to succeed Calhoun. Its stock dipped 17 cents to $33.79.
