Bruce Haymes, a New York City-based managing director at Nielsen Ventures, the corporate venturing unit run by media information provider Nielsen, has left to pursue an undisclosed “opportunity elsewhere”.
Haymes said: “After 10 years with Nielsen and seven years running Nielsen Ventures and Nielsen Innovate (the incubator formed in Israel by Nielsen and VC fund Partam Hi-Tech), I have accepted an amazing opportunity elsewhere.
“Nielsen’s Israel program has launched 22 new startups, supported several others, facilitated series A rounds, helped two startups achieve impressive exits, and created a reputation for Nielsen in Israel as an innovator, investor and supporter of the latest technologies impacting its clients.”
The exits were Toluna’s acquisition of digital tracking technology developer Crossense in September 2016 and Nielsen Sports’ August 2017 purchase of VBrand, a sports data analytics startup that had graduated from Nielsen Innovate.
Nielsen hired Haymes as senior vice-president of global business development and mergers and acquisitions at the start of 2008 and he led more than $2bn in acquisitions and investments over a three-year period.
Haymes’ role on that side of Nielsen’s business development has been taken on, at least initially, by John Burbank, who oversees Nielsen’s global corporate development and strategic innovation as well as Nielsen Ventures.
Haymes subsequently led Nielsen’s early-stage investment and accelerator programs linking the corporate’s long-term strategies with externally developed businesses, and founded and launched Nielsen Innovate in Israel.
Dov Yarkoni, who spoke at last week’s GCV Israel conference, remains CEO of Nielsen Innovate, a position he assumed in May 2017 when he was promoted from chief investment officer, and said there were no changes at his end.