A global early-career program that produced measurable results.
Nielsen Corporation, a global leader and multi-billion-dollar organization, wanted to transform its company. It partnered with Wronski Associates to produce an award-winning approach.
The need and solution
Nielsen’s CEO set a bold transformation agenda: unify 26 global entities into an integrated, agile market analysis powerhouse and prepare the business for a successful IPO. To accomplish this, the Global Business Services (GBS) division needed to significantly improve the quality (accuracy) and timeliness of deliverables — critical to client trust and competitive advantage.
However, Nielsen faced a talent gap: they needed early-career professionals who could rapidly develop into project leaders capable of executing high-impact work across a highly complex, global organization.
RJ Wronski Associates partnered with Nielsen to design and deliver the GBS Emerging Leaders Program — a structured, high-caliber, two-year rotational leadership program for high-potential professionals in their first 1–3 years of career experience.
104
Program graduates
52%
Improvement in global quality and accuracy
Summary of key results
200+
Strategic projects completed
15%
Increase in speed of data analysis
97%
Retention of graduates
$1 million
Savings from two global projects
76%
Recruiting acceptance rate
33%
Faster insight generation
“Wronski Associates has been the trusted partner that I have turned to each time I have had a strategic need to develop talent. They always rise to the occasion!”
Mitchell Habib, Nielsen - COO
What made the program work?
The program was built around five integrated components that accelerated growth while producing measurable business impact:
1) Rotational Assignments Across Critical Functions
Participants completed four six-month rotations across Operations, Technology, Engineering, and Measurement Science, culminating in high-visibility, leadership-level stretch roles (often including global assignments).
2) Intensive Training (Bootcamp + Development Milestones)
Participants completed 10 weeks of formal training, beginning with a four-week “bootcamp,” and totaling nearly 500 hours of structured development.
3) Coaching-Driven Career Development
The program institutionalized a coaching culture by embedding mentoring and professional coaching into the participant experience, strengthening retention and engagement among millennial talent.
4) Deep Senior Leader Involvement
Senior executives regularly met with Emerging Leaders, reinforcing business strategy alignment while building confidence and leadership presence among participants.
5) Strategic Recruiting Advantage
The program became a campus differentiator, helping Nielsen compete with top employers and dramatically increase acceptance rates among targeted early-career hires.