Introducing Talkwalker’s new CEO - Tod Nielsen
Welcome Tod. First up, can you tell us a bit about your history?
I think you could call me a tech industry veteran, who’s been very fortunate to have been part of some amazing tech companies over the last three decades. I started off at the early days of Microsoft in the 1980s, and was really able to learn and develop during my tenure there.
Following that, I held executive leadership roles at companies such as BEA Systems, Oracle, and Borland Corporation. During my time as COO at VMware, we increased our market cap 9-fold to more than $50 billion dollars. From there I became part of the Salesforce family, as the CEO of Heroku and moving to run their entire platform business. And most recently, I was the President and CEO of FinancialForce, which became the top ERP for services organizations on the Salesforce platform under my leadership.
That’s an impressive resume. What have you learned from those experiences?
First of all, great companies have a clear vision. Microsoft’s initial vision was ‘a computer in every home, and on every desk.’ And look where we are today - though maybe it’s more a computer in every pocket today!
Secondly, know your customers. Inside and out. I’ve always been the guy that was customer focused, thinking about what they needed, and that helps drive everything from product development to marketing.
Third, the importance of innovative products. Without them, you can’t build a long term legacy. But, they’re not the entire story. Everything else around your business, from internal operations to customer success, must all pull together to drive that success.
Which connects to my final insight, which is that success is a team sport. Every member of the team has to carry their weight and pull together to do amazing things.
“Success is a team sport. Every member of the team has to carry their weight and pull together to do amazing things.”
Tod Nielsen - Click To Tweet
Speaking of vision, what is your vision for Talkwalker?
It comes back to what I said before - it’s about knowing your customers. That’s what excites me the most about the Talkwalker platform. Talkwalker helps our customers get closer to their customers.
There is so much more potential there for all elements of a business. These insights aren’t just for the marketing manager, but can enable everyone across an enterprise, from product development, market research, company innovation, and consumer insights strategies.
It enables anyone to put consumer intelligence at the heart of everything a company does. That’s my vision. To see every brand become more customer focused, for the good of the company, and the wider ecosystem.
“Talkwalker helps our customers get closer to their customers.”
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What do you mean by a wider ecosystem?
For me, the success of Talkwalker won’t just be down to the success of the company, but the broader ecosystem that we sit in.
I like the idea that we can lean in on one another to enable broader growth. In Talkwalker’s case, that would be our clients and partner leaning on us for those powerful consumer insights, and a continuous solution that exceeds their needs. But we’ll also lean in, looking to them for an understanding of what those needs are. Talkwalker originated in listening, and listening to our customers is an integral part of that.
Then there’s the broader ecosystem. We’re in a dynamic space, with an audience hungry for development. Talkwalker should be at the center of leading community development, learning, and growth for all our partners. Whether they’re clients, partners, strategic collaborators or just the broader consumer intelligence community. To hopefully make the world a better place.
“Talkwalker originated in listening, and listening to our customers is an integral part of that.”
Tod Nielsen - Click To Tweet
Do you think Talkwalker can change the world?
I think everyone has to play its part in it, yes, including consumer intelligence companies.
As a Boy Scout, I was told you should always leave the campground in a better position than you found it. And the world is the only campground we have.
That’s why I think every individual, and every company, has a responsibility to impact social change. Whether it's sustainability, equality, diversity, it doesn’t matter. Every brand has the responsibility to make a real world change.
That’s something I will be actively encouraging through our company, and through our partners, and I look forward to revealing more about this in the future.
“Whether it's sustainability, equality, diversity, it doesn’t matter. Every brand has the responsibility to make a real world change.”
Tod Nielsen - Click To Tweet
Here’s to the future...
Thanks Tod. I can’t wait to announce all the exciting developments that will be coming over the next few months, as Talkwalker starts a whole new chapter.
If you want to get your foot in the door now, request a free demo, and see how Talkwalker’s powerful consumer insights can become an integral part of your brand strategy.
