David Calhoun

Group. He began there in January 2014, after leading Nielsen Holdings as Chief Executive Officer since 2006. During this time, Dave oversaw Nielsen’s transformation from a privately held company into a publicly traded corporation. He continued to serve on Nielsen’s board of directors as the Executive Chairman from January 2014 to January 2016. In this role, he remained engaged in the company and provided counsel to Nielsen’s executives.

Dave began his career at The General Electric Company. Before leaving GE for Nielsen, David served as vice chairman of The General Electric Company and chief executive officer of GE Infrastructure, GE’s largest business unit. During his 26-year tenure at General Electric, Calhoun led several business units, including GE Lighting, GE Employers Reinsurance Corp., GE Aircraft Engines, and GE Transportation. He held various roles across the company earlier in his career, which ranged from finance to marketing. In these roles, Dave gained a great deal of experience in business strategy and operations.

David serves on the board of directors at Caterpillar, Inc. and Neurofocus, Inc. He is also a member of The Business Roundtable — a group of CEOs and business leaders dedicated to broadening opportunities for Americans that work in the U.S. economy. Dave earned his BS in accounting at Virginia Tech and now serves on their Pamplin Advisory Council. He supports Virginia Tech through philanthropic initiatives that help provide resources to underprivileged students.

He is the co-author of the book, How Companies Win. In the book, he and Rick Kash of the Cambridge Group discuss the changing business landscape and how companies can maintain success while navigating the economy’s continuous digital transformation.