Cornelius Departs in Nielsen Media Shake-Up

Nielsen Media Australia MD Peter Cornelius has left the company, following a restructure which has resulted in the firm integrating its Watch (media) and Buy (consumer purchase behavior) divisions under the leadership of former MD, Pacific, Chris Percy.

Cornelius joined Nielsen in 2002 as MD of the Pacific Region, and for the next nine years oversaw media operations in Australia and New Zealand. This involved a broad portfolio of services including radio audience measurement; advertising expenditure and volume tracking, single source lifestyle/attitudinal surveys, and an array of specialist ad hoc studies.

Prior to joining the firm, he spent more than five years as MD and Chief Negotiation Officer at Zenith Media in Australia, leading the Sydney office and conducting all the annual media negotiations on behalf of clients. Earlier, he spent sixteen years as a Media Director at ad agency George Patterson Bates.

During his career, he has also served on several key industry bodies, including terms as President of the Media Federation of Australia, Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and on the Executive Board of the Circulations Audit Bureau.

In an e-mail to clients, Cornelius said that having joined Nielsen after a long career on the media agency side, it had been a 'fascinating and rewarding experience' to observe media and marketing life from a different perspective. He added that after a break, he plans to explore new career opportunities related to media and marketing.

Percy will now lead the combined Watch and Buy entity across Australia and New Zealand. Earlier in his career, he led Nielsen's Retailer Services, Consumer Panel, Analytic Consulting and RMS Product Leadership functions across 45 countries in EEMEA, served as Director Retailer Services for Nielsen Emerging Marketing, based in Warsaw Poland; and as Retailer Services Director, North Asia, based in Hong Kong.

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