Nielsen Co. has appointed Brian J. West CFO of the $4.1 billion global information and company, which is based in New York and Haarlem, Netherlands. West, 37, succeeds Rob Ruijter who is returning to the Netherlands but will remain with the company. Prior to joining Nielsen, West held various finance roles at General Electric Co., including the CFO of NBC's TV stations division, CFO of GE Engine Services and most recently CFO of GE Aviation.

Motorola Inc. named Thomas J. Meredith acting CFO of the $42.9 billion communications company, which is based in Schaumburg, Ill. Meredith, 56, succeeds David Devonshire, 61, who retired April 1. Meredith is a general partner of Meritage Capital L.P. as well as CEO of MFI Capital. From 1992 to 2000, Meredith served as senior vice president and CFO of Dell Inc. Then, from 2000 to 2001, he was managing director of Dell Ventures and senior vice president of business development and strategy of Dell.

PETCO Animal Supplies Inc. named Michael E. Foss executive vice president and CFO of the $2 billion San Diego animal products company. Prior to joining PETCO, Foss, 49, was CFO and executive vice president at Circuit City Stores Inc. Earlier, he was CFO and executive vice president of corporate business development at TeleTech Holdings Inc.