India has proved to be the strategic hub for talent and innovation in the media and entertainment space, serving as a test-and-learn country for global product success, Jessica Holscott, Chief Financial Officer at Nielsen, exclusively told businessline in her first ever interview since taking over the C-suite role.
“I’m incredibly impressed with the talent pool in India. Just on the velocity of work that happens here, I’m impressed across engineering, finance teams and all the hubs here. The talent pool here is world class,” said Holscott, who joined the media measurement company as CFO in February 2025.
Nielsen currently holds over 40 per cent of its workforce in India, following over three years of private ownership under Elliott and Brookfield. Holscott spoke of “a good chance” to increase this headcount going forward, as the company plans the expansion of its product testing in India. As an innovation hub, Holscott described the “complex” Indian market as key growth area for the company.
“India is a strategic hub for engineering, data science, analytics and finance but it’s also becoming increasingly clear that this as a test-and-learn country. If we can make it work here from a market fit standpoint, we can make it work in many other countries,” said Holscott, adding that the company will continue to invest in the market as Nielsen tests its next generation measurement solutions in India for global product innovation and development.
The company management also noted India’s advantage as a mobile-first nation resulting in higher Connected TV (Smart TV) penetration. In terms of sports and popular content, the company works closely with JioHotstar, Netflix, to create the necessary solutions to capture a complex market like India, said India.
Over the past six months, Nielsen refinanced over $7 billion of debt and used proceeds from asset sales and cash on hand from strong free cash flow generation to pay down about $500 million of debt. Holscott said the cash interest savings generated year over year from this refinancing will be invested back into the business by way of ad products, streaming solutions, GraceNote and AI.
CFO responsibilties
The job description of a CFO has shifted from pure financial oversight towards further strategic leadership, said Holscott. This implies additional responsibilities to the CFO such as assessing investment in the right products for innovation and growth, evaluating ROI across fragmented media channels, partnering with the CEO and the Board on long-term strategy
“Those are things that I am focused on every day as a CFO. Don’t get me wrong, financial oversight is incredibly important but also strategic leadership is part of the evolving CFO role,” she said.
Published on April 26, 2026