Bill Livek plans to retire as CEO of Comscore, capping a career in media measurement spanning more than 40 years.
Comscore said its board of directors will consider external and internal candidates to succeed Livek as CEO and has engaged headhunting firm Spencer Stuart for the search. once a replacement is named, Livek plans to transition to non-executive vice chairman and serve on Comscore’s board through the end of his term in mid-2024.
Livek previously served as CEO of Rentrak and helped facilitate the company’s 2016 acquisition by Comscore, which combined Rentrak’s movie and TV tracking businesses with Comscore’s internet measurement — and has resulted in Comscore emerging as a credible rival to Nielsen.
Following the Rentrak-Comscore merger, Livek served on Comscore’s board. He stepped in as CEO in 2019, after a tumultuous period for Comscore — including the resignations earlier that year of former CEO Bryan Wiener and president Sarah Hofstetter over a disagreement with the board over the company’s strategic direction.
“On behalf of the Comscore board, employees and industry, we want to thank Bill for his leadership and successful turnaround of Comscore,” Comscore chairman Brent Rosenthal said in a statement. “Bill ensured that Comscore is in a stronger position than it’s ever been and prepared to serve as the future of media measurement.”
Livek commented, “It has been an honor to serve Comscore’s shareholders, customers and employees, and I am so proud of what we have accomplished together as a team to make Comscore synonymous with census measurement. I am confident about Comscore’s future and honored to continue to be part of it.”
Livek, whose career in media measurement began in 1978, is credited with helping to build and turn around a number of measurement companies, including Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio), Birch/Scarborough and Simmons Market Research Bureau. Over his career, he helped the usher in the adoption of large data sets such as credit card information, set-top devices and point of sales data into the media measurement business.
Prior to joining Rentrak in 2009, Livek served as co-president of Experian Research Services, co-chair/co-owner of Simmons Market Research Bureau, co-founder of Transactional Data Solutions (in partnership with MasterCard), VP of sales/marketing for Arbitron and was a principal shareholder in Birch Research, which was later integrated into Scarborough Research, where he served as president and CEO.
