David Craig
Clients see TR as 'early innovator who fell behind'
Monday 05 March 2012
Thomson Reuters has set up a task force aimed at regaining the company’s position in sell-side trading “where significant numbers of customers see us as an early innovator who fell behind”, financial & risk division chief David Craig told staff on Monday.
“In listening to our customers, it’s clear they want Thomson Reuters to succeed. They want to do business with us and reduce their dependency on our competitors. They like our approach, the choice and the openness we offer. But we must first earn their confidence and their business by better understanding them and how they use our products, as well as what they value most,” he said.
“This requires us to constantly innovate – particularly on the sell-side where significant numbers of customers see us as an early innovator who fell behind. It’s an urgent priority for many of them that we regain Thomson Reuters position in trading, re-establishing a strong presence in trading communities across the buy- to sell-side and across multiple asset classes.
“I’ve seen more feedback on this topic than anything else in recent weeks, both from our customers and our employees, and I want you and our clients to know that we are listening.”
Craig announced a special nine-person collaboration & trading community task force that he would chair, working closely with clients on this key priority. Its primary focus would be to create a single, consistent commercial platform that allows the company to effectively support collaboration within key financial communities across all sectors.
● SOURCE Reuters
“In listening to our customers, it’s clear they want Thomson Reuters to succeed. They want to do business with us and reduce their dependency on our competitors. They like our approach, the choice and the openness we offer. But we must first earn their confidence and their business by better understanding them and how they use our products, as well as what they value most,” he said.
“This requires us to constantly innovate – particularly on the sell-side where significant numbers of customers see us as an early innovator who fell behind. It’s an urgent priority for many of them that we regain Thomson Reuters position in trading, re-establishing a strong presence in trading communities across the buy- to sell-side and across multiple asset classes.
“I’ve seen more feedback on this topic than anything else in recent weeks, both from our customers and our employees, and I want you and our clients to know that we are listening.”
Craig announced a special nine-person collaboration & trading community task force that he would chair, working closely with clients on this key priority. Its primary focus would be to create a single, consistent commercial platform that allows the company to effectively support collaboration within key financial communities across all sectors.
● SOURCE Reuters
New Bloomberg terminal raises questions at Thomson Reuters
Monday 27 February 2012
Bloomberg’s new $100 million user interface is aimed at making its flagship terminal more intuitive and easier for financial clients to search for data and news. It is part of an effort to connect with a new generation of traders who grew up on internet browsers and are more comfortable using a mouse than the company’s customised keyboard.
“Bloomberg will get press coverage and attention on this announcement, and we expect comparisons to be made to Thomson Reuters in the media,” Craig told staff on Monday. “In addition, clients may have questions.”
Craid added: “With financial & risk now into its third month as a business, we’re already delivering concrete wins for our customers.” He drew attention to print and banner advertising in the Financial Times “demonstrating ownership of the ‘Next’ brand and providing great visibility for Thomson Reuters”. The advertisements promote Westlaw Next, a product for the group’s legal customer base.
“We continue to set the pace in our industry in terms of using new, open technologies to deliver easier navigation, better search and more choice – all things our customers for both WestLaw Next and Eikon value enormously,” he said.
Thomson Reuters’ Eikon terminal, designed as a platform for dozens of disparate products that resulted from Thomson’s 2008 acquisition of Reuters, was introduced in September 2010. It also offers easier search features and allows customers to build different applications to customise it for their needs. Sales have disappointed Thomson Reuters shareholders, however. The company has more than 400,000 end users across its range of desktop products, of which 40,000 have signed up for Eikon, including 16,000 that have installed the product and are considered active users.
Bloomberg edged out Thomson Reuters last year in the $25 billion sector for market data and analysis, taking a 30.44 per cent share compared with Thomson Reuters’ 30.05 per cent according to New York consulting firm Burton-Taylor International. Thomson Reuters said the Burton-Taylor survey focused on terminal sales and did not reflect other market segments the company serves in the financial & risk unit, where revenue also comes from sales of feeds, foreign exchange products and compliance and regulatory products.
● SOURCE Reuters | Paid Content
Changes make TR 'more unified internally' - James Smith
Monday 19 December 2011
The changes “will make us more unified internally and more competitive in the marketplace for years to come,” Smith said in a message to employees. He referred to working “to turn the world’s greatest collection of news and information assets into the world’s greatest news and information company”, and said “We have already come a long way since we announced our next generation of business leaders at the beginning of this month.”
Following last week’s appointment of Peter Warwick as chief people officer, Smith confirmed Deirdre Stanley as general counsel and James Powell as chief technology officer. “Both of them have remarkable track records and both are committed to working side by side with our business leaders to take this company into a new era,” he said.
“All of our organizational decisions are based on straightforward, durable principles: everything starts and ends with the customer, business is a team sport, and simpler is better. During the weeks ahead we will bed down our organizational structure, continuing to streamline the company and push authority, accountability and resources closer to the customer. I know it will be a relief for everyone to have the structure and leadership team firmly in place and to put this period of realignment behind us.
“2011 has been a year of challenges and changes. Those changes will make us more unified internally and more competitive in the marketplace for years to come.”
Separately, the president of the new financial and risk business unit that includes Reuters news agency, David Craig, told staff that after a year of tumultuous change, 2012 would be a defining year “and I am confident that the team and structure now in place will set us up to re-start our growth engine. There is no doubt that the markets are tough, and are likely to get worse in 2012 – but that should not deter us. Even in a downturn, and in markets that are changing fast, there are opportunities if we are agile enough to seize them.”
● SOURCE Reuters
