ABCS Insights Emerges to Lead the Connected Outcomes Era, Backed by $50M and a Leadership Team Drawn From Outcome Measurement's Founding Generation

Former NCSolutions and Nielsen executive Deirdre McFarland joins as CMO, and Thalya Hamilton is promoted to CCO, joining the C-suite team built to define the next era of marketing measurement.

NEW YORK, July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Measurement can tell marketers what happened. It hasn't been able to tell them why — whether a sale was driven by brand, consideration, or conversion — or connect that answer across the fragmented journey that today's brands actually run. ABCS Insights (ABCS), the independent, third-party advertising effectiveness analytics company, was built to close that gap. ABCS introduced the Connected Outcomes Era, along with two new executive appointments to lead it: Deirdre McFarland as chief marketing officer (CMO) and Thalya Hamilton, promoted to chief client officer (CCO).

Both join ABCS's C-suite alongside Jerome Shimizu (CEO and co-founder), Michael Sheng (CTO and co-founder), and chief revenue officer (CRO) Tom Acquaviva — a team drawn from the founding generation of outcomes measurement. Shimizu, a named inventor on multiple measurement patents, co-founded NCSolutions, the Nielsen-Catalina joint venture that pioneered linking media exposure to real-world sales outcomes. Sheng architected the data systems that power ABCS's independent, outcomes-based methodology. Acquaviva brings commercial leadership from  Nielsen for 10+ years and most recently Qualtrics, where he helped scale ARR from $75 million to $1 billion.

Shimizu and Sheng have spent more than six years building the platform, dataset, and team required to lead the Connected Outcomes Era, backed by a $50M Series A led by Volition Capital.

McFarland brings more than two decades of leadership experience building category-defining narratives at Nielsen, Scarborough, and most recently as chief marketing and communications officer at NCSolutions, where she played a key role in positioning the company for its acquisition by Circana. Hamilton steps into the expanded CCO role with deep experience across measurement and commerce media, shaped by leadership roles at NCSolutions, Nielsen, Ibotta, and Neptune Retail Solutions.

"Defining a category requires a leadership team that can see the whole picture and execute against it," said Shimizu. "With Deirdre joining and Thalya stepping into an expanded role alongside Michael and Tom, we have added critical expertise across product, commercial, client, and brand to answer the industry's call for full-funnel measurement — and to lead the Connected Outcomes Era."

Volition Capital co-founder and managing partner Sean Cantwell led the Series A. The Boston-based growth equity firm has backed notable category-definers since 2010, including Visual IQ (acquired by Nielsen) and Connatix, and this investment expands its footprint in the measurement and analytics ecosystem.

"When we led ABCS's Series A, we were backing a thesis: measurement is moving toward a connected view of the customer journey, and the legacy models weren't built to deliver it," said Cantwell. "This growing leadership team — spanning measurement, commerce media and commercial scale — has the depth and conviction to make that thesis the industry standard."

To learn more about ABCS Insights and the Connected Outcomes Era, visit the company website. 

About ABCS Insights
ABCS Insights is the independent measurement company leading the Connected Outcomes Era. Built on a framework of Connected, Consistent, and Causal measurement, ABCS explains not just whether advertising worked, but why — connecting outcomes across every screen, every retailer, every channel, and every stage of the customer journey. Grounded in thousands of studies and large-scale, real-world purchase data, ABCS helps brands, agencies, and commerce media partners plan, measure, and optimize advertising as a true driver of business growth.

About Volition Capital
Volition Capital is a Boston-based growth equity firm that principally invests in high-growth, founder-owned companies across the software, Internet, and consumer sectors. Founded in 2010, Volition has over $1.7 billion in assets under management and has invested in and/or provided sub-advisory advice to more than 60 companies. The firm selectively partners with founders to help them achieve their fullest aspirations for their businesses. For more information, visit http://www.volitioncapital.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
Lacy Talton; Evergreen & Oak on behalf of ABCS Insights
[email protected]
252.467.5220

SOURCE ABCS Insights