Angela Talton, our Chief Diversity Officer, was recently inducted into the International Radio & Television Society Foundation (IRTS) Hall of Mentorship. The IRTS Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building future media leaders, and it features some of the most accomplished leaders in media in its membership.
The Hall of Mentorship is a prestigious recognition of executives who have lent their experience, expertise and wisdom to support future media industry leaders through mentorship. Inductees are celebrated at the foundation’s annual dinner, which serves as a call-to-action for the media and communications industry, encouraging leaders to help build the next generation of industry leaders, and is attended by C-suite representatives from some of the biggest companies in media including NBCUniversal, Disney, AMC Networks, Turner, Viacom, Fox and IPG Mediabrands.
Lori Hall, SVP of Marketing & Creative Services for TV One and member of our African American Advisory Council, introduced Angela. Lori lauded Angela’s accessible and inspiring leadership style, and highlighted how Nielsen’s culture of inclusion sprung from Angela’s vision. She also shared numerous examples of how Angela has leveraged her position and influence to advocate for future leaders throughout her career at Nielsen—a main reason for her being selected for this honor.
When Angela was appointed SVP, Global Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), she enlisted the support of a steering committee composed of Nielsen’s CHRO, COO and Presidents of our Watch and Buy businesses in order to create the Diverse Leadership Network (DLN), a 15-month internal mini-MBA program intentionally designed to be our most diverse leadership development program, featuring cohorts representing 25% Asian, 25% African American, 25% Hispanic/Latinx, 25% Caucasian communities and at least 50% women. Thanks to the buy-in of the aforementioned Nielsen senior leaders, the creation of the DLN marked a cultural watershed for Nielsen, where our diverse leadership pipeline became the catalyst to furthering our D&I strategy.
“My most consistently satisfying professional accomplishment has been accelerating the careers of associates through mentorship,” said Angela. “Whether I am assisting a mentee with developing an idea, creating an operating plan, increasing their knowledge of company priorities or helping them gain exposure to senior leadership, I have always felt that I was engaging in the best part of my job–promoting top talent. The DLN has brought the enriching experience of mentorship to a broad group of rising leaders at Nielsen, providing them with visibility, access and opportunity while helping our company, with solutions that we provide to our clients as they adapt to a diversifying global population.”
The DLN, which entered its fifth year in 2018 and graduated its fourth class, has had a measurable impact on our ability to recognize, cultivate and advance the careers of our diverse talent. To date, 93% of DLN participants have been promoted and 40% have reached the VP level. Additionally, the DLN participant retention rate is 30% higher than the equivalent top-performing cohort of associates.
Pictured above: Joining Angela at the Awards Dinner were Carolyn Amato, Boston Scientific (MBA classmate); Catherine Herkovic, SVP, Client Solutions, Nielsen; Andrew McCaskill, SVP, Global Communications & Multicultural Marketing, Nielsen; Jacki DeFilippo, SVP, Global Human Resources, Nielsen; Natasha Miller Williams (first program director of the DLN and current VP, Talent Engagement & Development, Nielsen). Seated: Marie Lalleman, EVP, Global Client Solutions, Nielsen; Angela Talton and Lori Hall.
