James Smith
Thomson Reuters resilient in tough times - James Smith
Thursday 09 February 2012
The $3 billion write-down – “a non-cash charge for goodwill impairment” – does not reflect lack of confidence and the financial foundation of the business remains strong, he told the group’s 55,000 staff.
Smith, who took over from Tom Glocer on 1 January, said he looked forward to the year ahead with confidence, both because of the company’s time-tested resilience and because of the dramatic steps taken in recent months.
“Our management team is stronger and we are taking steps to make our organization simpler. We are putting the customers back where they belong – at the heart of everything we do – and we’ve got important product and service improvements planned for 2012…
“I am realistic about the turbulent markets we will face this year. But I also know that dramatic change presents dramatic opportunity.” The more dynamic and challenging the environment for the world’s professionals, the more complex the regulations, the more value Thomson Reuters could provide.
Smith said the $3 billion “accounting adjustment” reflected the fact that the external world – and market valuations – had changed since Thomson completed the Reuters acquisition in 2008. It also reflected the fact that the company had yet to achieve the performance expected from some of the businesses in the former markets division.
“It is important to note that this non-cash charge will not impact the company’s normal business operations nor will it affect liquidity or cash flow from operations. Nor does it reflect a lack of confidence: I am fully confident that our Financial & Risk business can achieve organic revenue growth in the mid-single digits. The financial foundation of our business remains strong.
“Today’s action puts the past behind us and sets our focus squarely on the future,” Smith said. Across the organisation work was well under way on key priorities for this year. He enumerated these as
● kick-start the growth engine in Financial & Risk
● invest in higher growing segments and adjacent businesses
● exploit the strengths of Thomson Reuters’ global franchises
● accelerate development of the business in fast-growing geographies.
Smith said news and insight would become part of the basic fabric of all the group’s flagship products. “We have the biggest and best news organization in the world and no one is better positioned as THE source for market-moving news.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
$3 billion hit pushes Thomson Reuters into heavy loss
Thursday 09 February 2012
Thomson Reuters revealed a $3 billion charge on Thursday related to the declining value of its troubled financial services business, swinging the company to a steep quarterly operating loss.
The loss for last three months of 2011 was $2.59 billion, a sharp contrast to $307 million profit a year earlier.
The charge reflects turmoil in the group’s markets division, whose flagship desktop product Eikon has not been taken up by as many customers as forecast. That lead the division to report quarterly revenues just one per cent higher at $912 million. The company said there were now 15,000 active Eikon installations compared with 8,000 in September.
Thomson Reuters has suffered in the wake of the financial crisis, with customers in banking and finance laying off tens of thousands of employees and slashing costs.
It was the first quarterly report under James Smith, who took over as chief executive from Tom Glocer on 1 January following a series of management shake-ups.
“We have simplified our organisation; we have strengthened our management team; and we are making progress toward improving our execution capability,” the new CEO said in a statement.
The $3 billion charge was the result of the company’s annual goodwill testing. “This non-cash charge will not impact the company’s normal business operations, nor will it affect liquidity, cash flow from operations or financial covenants under the company’s outstanding public debt securities or syndicated credit facility,” it said.
Overall revenues for the quarter were up five per cent before currency changes to $3.35 billion, thanks to strong sales in the group’s legal and tax and accounting businesses.
Thomson Reuters said it expects 2012 revenue to grow in the low single digits.
“The guidance is prudent, as it should be,” Claudio Aspesi, senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein, told Reuters. “My concern is that headwinds in financial services will be very hard because employment will continue to be under pressure. Financial markets and legal both will be under continued revenue pressure in 2012 and beyond. At some point the question of whether the cost structure is in line will have to be answered,” he added.
Thomson Reuters said it intended to sell three businesses: Tax & Accounting's Property Tax Services; Legal's Law School Publishing business; and Financial & Risk's eXimius business, which is part of the Retail Wealth Management organisation. The three businesses combined had about $155 million of revenue in 2011.
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
The loss for last three months of 2011 was $2.59 billion, a sharp contrast to $307 million profit a year earlier.
The charge reflects turmoil in the group’s markets division, whose flagship desktop product Eikon has not been taken up by as many customers as forecast. That lead the division to report quarterly revenues just one per cent higher at $912 million. The company said there were now 15,000 active Eikon installations compared with 8,000 in September.
Thomson Reuters has suffered in the wake of the financial crisis, with customers in banking and finance laying off tens of thousands of employees and slashing costs.
It was the first quarterly report under James Smith, who took over as chief executive from Tom Glocer on 1 January following a series of management shake-ups.
“We have simplified our organisation; we have strengthened our management team; and we are making progress toward improving our execution capability,” the new CEO said in a statement.
The $3 billion charge was the result of the company’s annual goodwill testing. “This non-cash charge will not impact the company’s normal business operations, nor will it affect liquidity, cash flow from operations or financial covenants under the company’s outstanding public debt securities or syndicated credit facility,” it said.
Overall revenues for the quarter were up five per cent before currency changes to $3.35 billion, thanks to strong sales in the group’s legal and tax and accounting businesses.
Thomson Reuters said it expects 2012 revenue to grow in the low single digits.
“The guidance is prudent, as it should be,” Claudio Aspesi, senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein, told Reuters. “My concern is that headwinds in financial services will be very hard because employment will continue to be under pressure. Financial markets and legal both will be under continued revenue pressure in 2012 and beyond. At some point the question of whether the cost structure is in line will have to be answered,” he added.
Thomson Reuters said it intended to sell three businesses: Tax & Accounting's Property Tax Services; Legal's Law School Publishing business; and Financial & Risk's eXimius business, which is part of the Retail Wealth Management organisation. The three businesses combined had about $155 million of revenue in 2011.
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
Doing ‘the happy dance’ at Reuters
Monday 30 January 2012
Some 5,000 copies of the 64-page proof-of-concept publication were printed for Davos and another 6,000 for clients and others.
“I would be very surprised if there wasn’t a print product in our future,” said Jim Impoco, executive editor of Thomson Reuters Digital. “We’re having pretty extensive conversations about it right now …
“We feel there is an opening for a magazine along these lines, a sophisticated, well-designed magazine that doesn’t dumb down” its financial, business and foreign policy coverage, he told The Poynter Institute, a journalism school at the University of South Florida, St Petersburg.
Impoco said the magazine was assembled over about two months, starting in October when editor-in-chief Stephen Adler posed the idea to him.
“Steve Adler and [chief executive] Jim Smith and key players at the company seem to be very excited about it,” Impoco said. “We’re sort of making this big consumer-facing push, and what better to hit people with than a lush magazine that you can sort of cuddle up with?”
But, Impoco said, “Let’s keep it in perspective … We are digital natives. We believe in electronic news. Every day we do the happy dance because we don’t have a legacy product dragging us down … We are afforded the luxury of trying something like this.”
There’s one thing the magazine is not, said Poynter: the “first-ever” Reuters magazine. “A previous version was discontinued at some point, which Impoco said he just learned on Wednesday.”
● SOURCE Poynter
Another challenging year for Thomson Reuters - CEO James Smith
Thursday 19 January 2012
“During my break, I could not help but reflect on the opportunity and the responsibility of leading Thomson Reuters as CEO,” Smith told the group’s 55,000 employees. “In thinking about the best way to begin, it was helpful to dream about where I wanted to end. What do I want Thomson Reuters to be known for when my tenure as CEO has ended?
“I want us to be known for:
“● Our intimate understanding of customers, their needs and how we can help them achieve their business goals;
“● The quality of our products;
“● The excellence of our customer service;
“● The caliber, character and engagement of our people;
“● And a level of teamwork that makes possible a truly ‘boundaryless’ organization, where the whole delivers far more than just the sum of its parts.
“If we can accomplish all that, the financial results will take care of themselves.”
To do that, however, would need change in the way some things are done and focus on new measurements of success.
“In the coming weeks, expect to hear more about how we will set targets and keep track of our progress in critical areas like competitive position and customer satisfaction. We will elevate the dialog surrounding new product development and sales effectiveness. We will bring renewed commitment to the development of our people and to improving the diversity of our workforce. And we will address aspects of our performance culture to make sure we all celebrate and share in each other’s successes.”
Smith, who took over from Tom Glocer at the turn of the year, added that there would be plenty of tactical priorities and key initiatives to focus on in the coming year. All of them would reflect the long-range goals he had set out.
“I have no doubt that 2012 will be another challenging year. Market conditions remain uncertain in many places and quite difficult in others. The lagging nature of our subscription-based business model means that it takes time to turn the ship, especially in choppy seas.
“But regardless of the short-term challenges, I am confident that we have begun laying the foundation for a successful future. As I reflected over my holiday break on all the changes we announced at the end of 2011, I could not think of one decision I would have changed. The senior team is in place. It has never been stronger, nor more committed to mutual success…
“I have never been more confident of our ability to succeed in the long term. Our best days are ahead of us.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
CEO James Smith appointed a Thomson Reuters director
Thursday 19 January 2012
James Smith, Thomson Reuters’ new chief executive, has been appointed to the board of directors, the company announced on Thursday.
Smith, 52, succeeded Tom Glocer, also 52, as CEO on 1 January after three months as chief operating officer. Previously, he had been chief executive officer of the group’s professional division where he oversaw the legal, tax & accounting and intellectual property & science businesses. Smith joined the Thomson Newspaper group in 1987.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Smith, 52, succeeded Tom Glocer, also 52, as CEO on 1 January after three months as chief operating officer. Previously, he had been chief executive officer of the group’s professional division where he oversaw the legal, tax & accounting and intellectual property & science businesses. Smith joined the Thomson Newspaper group in 1987.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
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
Huge challenges for Reuters in 2012 - Stephen Adler
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Reuters faces enormous challenges in 2012 and beyond, editor-in-chief Stephen Adler said on Wednesday.
“We must accelerate our pursuit of journalistic excellence, with the understanding that our news is a central resource for Thomson Reuters that must serve all the company’s customers,” he said in an end-of-year message to editorial staff seen by The Baron.
“As we’ve discussed many times, winning in our highly competitive markets requires us to differentiate ourselves by offering more value – not just more of the same. We will succeed by providing a combination of smart, forward-looking news coverage, more exclusives, richer enterprise journalism, effective data mining, memorable story-telling, targeted community-building, trenchant commentary and analysis, and better designed, easier-to-navigate news delivery channels.”
Adler said: “Throughout the year, many of you have asked: How do we remain fast, accurate, and fair while also providing the depth and insight you keep talking about? How do we consider the needs of a broad customer base when we’ve been asked to focus more narrowly in the past? There’s no easy answer, so we will have to ask the right questions with each assignment. Sometimes the value of a story will come from chasing the news and reporting each incremental move. Sometimes it will come from stepping away from the day-to-day to develop a longer-term story that will ultimately benefit the reader more. Often we will need to operate on two tracks simultaneously, with some people focusing on immediate news and others looking beyond the moment to go deeper and help our coverage win not just the hour or day, but the week, month and year. All this requires judgment more than blanket rules, which is why we’ve tried to cut down on many of the edicts.”
Adler said Reuters moves into 2012 with extraordinary backing from the new corporate leadership, the same staunch support received from Tom Glocer and his team in 2011. “Tom’s commitment to excellence, and his clarion call that news is the heart and soul of the company, have brought us to this moment and helped us lay the groundwork for stronger performance in the coming months. We will now be led by incoming CEO Jim Smith, to whom I reported when he was running the professional businesses and I was working to integrate news into their products. Jim spent much of his career in Thomson newspapers and has a deep understanding of, and great passion for, journalism. I can tell you from personal experience that Jim will be an ardent advocate for news quality and editorial integrity. As you get to know him, you'll also find that he is an extraordinary leader who combines great business instincts and discipline with humor, warmth, and decency.
“Bottom line: I am optimistic, energized, and eager to embrace the opportunities ahead. Our goal today, as it was when I began the job, is to be the number-one news provider in the world. As before, I’m in favor of anything that gets us there and against anything that gets in the way.”
● SOURCE Reuters
“We must accelerate our pursuit of journalistic excellence, with the understanding that our news is a central resource for Thomson Reuters that must serve all the company’s customers,” he said in an end-of-year message to editorial staff seen by The Baron.
“As we’ve discussed many times, winning in our highly competitive markets requires us to differentiate ourselves by offering more value – not just more of the same. We will succeed by providing a combination of smart, forward-looking news coverage, more exclusives, richer enterprise journalism, effective data mining, memorable story-telling, targeted community-building, trenchant commentary and analysis, and better designed, easier-to-navigate news delivery channels.”
Adler said: “Throughout the year, many of you have asked: How do we remain fast, accurate, and fair while also providing the depth and insight you keep talking about? How do we consider the needs of a broad customer base when we’ve been asked to focus more narrowly in the past? There’s no easy answer, so we will have to ask the right questions with each assignment. Sometimes the value of a story will come from chasing the news and reporting each incremental move. Sometimes it will come from stepping away from the day-to-day to develop a longer-term story that will ultimately benefit the reader more. Often we will need to operate on two tracks simultaneously, with some people focusing on immediate news and others looking beyond the moment to go deeper and help our coverage win not just the hour or day, but the week, month and year. All this requires judgment more than blanket rules, which is why we’ve tried to cut down on many of the edicts.”
Adler said Reuters moves into 2012 with extraordinary backing from the new corporate leadership, the same staunch support received from Tom Glocer and his team in 2011. “Tom’s commitment to excellence, and his clarion call that news is the heart and soul of the company, have brought us to this moment and helped us lay the groundwork for stronger performance in the coming months. We will now be led by incoming CEO Jim Smith, to whom I reported when he was running the professional businesses and I was working to integrate news into their products. Jim spent much of his career in Thomson newspapers and has a deep understanding of, and great passion for, journalism. I can tell you from personal experience that Jim will be an ardent advocate for news quality and editorial integrity. As you get to know him, you'll also find that he is an extraordinary leader who combines great business instincts and discipline with humor, warmth, and decency.
“Bottom line: I am optimistic, energized, and eager to embrace the opportunities ahead. Our goal today, as it was when I began the job, is to be the number-one news provider in the world. As before, I’m in favor of anything that gets us there and against anything that gets in the way.”
● SOURCE Reuters
Reuters managers leave in end-of-year cull
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Thomson Reuters’ incoming chief executive James Smith on Wednesday announced the appointment of a chief people officer – Peter Warwick – to take over the human resources function from Stephen Dando on 1 January with support from Dando until the end of March.
Warwick is currently chief operating officer of the group’s professional division and has been chief executive officer of the legal and tax and accounting businesses.
Dando is one of several Reuters era managers including senior editorial figures said by sources in New York to be leaving the company.
Smith, who takes over from Tom Glocer at the turn of the year, said solid progress had been achieved on the Customer First organisational design work and senior leadership appointments.
He said it concludes the Thomson-Reuters integration and the company now enters a new era.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Warwick is currently chief operating officer of the group’s professional division and has been chief executive officer of the legal and tax and accounting businesses.
Dando is one of several Reuters era managers including senior editorial figures said by sources in New York to be leaving the company.
Smith, who takes over from Tom Glocer at the turn of the year, said solid progress had been achieved on the Customer First organisational design work and senior leadership appointments.
He said it concludes the Thomson-Reuters integration and the company now enters a new era.
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Tom Glocer might have stayed longer but for 'bad luck and overconfidence'
Thursday 08 December 2011
Tom Glocer might have stayed longer as Thomson Reuters chief executive were it not for a mix of bad luck and overconfidence, The Economist said on Thursday.
Glocer, whose retirement was announced a week ago, brought Reuters from the verge of bankruptcy to a state of rude health during seven years as the organisation’s CEO, the weekly said. “But he has done less well as chief executive of Thomson Reuters, the company created when Thomson, a Canadian purveyor of professional information for lawyers, accountants and others, bought Reuters in 2008. Bloomberg, the firm’s American rival, has almost wiped out its once-clear lead.”
New information platform Eikon, launched last year to compete with terminals offered by Bloomberg, has been taken up by just 8,000 out of Thomson Reuters’ 400,000 financial-data subscribers, The Economist said.
“Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg are the big fish in the professional-publishing pond, at least eight times larger than their nearest competitor. Bloomberg, besides expanding its terminals business, which has over 300,000 customers (at about $20,000 a pop), is pushing into government-related news and data…
“So what happened to Mr Glocer’s winning streak? His allies say his departure was always just a matter of time: once a firm buys another, it completes the takeover by putting its own people in charge. The Thomson family still owns 55% of the company, and some think the generous price [$17.2 billion] Mr Glocer secured from Thomson for Reuters made him all the more vulnerable.
“But he might have stayed longer were it not for a mix of bad luck and overconfidence. Eikon, intended to replace Reuters’ grab bag of services with a single offering, was designed to be more user-friendly than Bloomberg’s devices, but it was launched hastily and with flaws. With hindsight, a more gradual upgrade might have been more prudent.”
Perhaps Glocer’s replacement James Smith can do better, The Economist said. “He will almost certainly have a freer hand, and some upgrades to Eikon are planned for next year. But these are still stormy seas.” According to Claudio Aspesi, an analyst at investment bank Sanford C. Bernstein, it took most professional-publishing firms three to four years to recover from the 2001 recession. This time, Bernstein predicts, revenue growth at Thomson Reuters will not reach pre-crash levels until at least 2015.
One area of potential growth, though, is trading services. Changes in financial regulation in America and Europe will force a lot of trading in derivatives from the murky world of private “over-the-counter” deals onto exchanges, where contracts will be standardised and prices quoted. This presents both Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg with an opportunity to gather and sell data on these markets and perhaps to capture a share of the trade by linking banks and their clients through their own electronic trading platforms. The market for these derivatives is gigantic. A competitive edge there could make a big difference to both companies’ fortunes.
● SOURCE The Economist
Glocer, whose retirement was announced a week ago, brought Reuters from the verge of bankruptcy to a state of rude health during seven years as the organisation’s CEO, the weekly said. “But he has done less well as chief executive of Thomson Reuters, the company created when Thomson, a Canadian purveyor of professional information for lawyers, accountants and others, bought Reuters in 2008. Bloomberg, the firm’s American rival, has almost wiped out its once-clear lead.”
New information platform Eikon, launched last year to compete with terminals offered by Bloomberg, has been taken up by just 8,000 out of Thomson Reuters’ 400,000 financial-data subscribers, The Economist said.
“Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg are the big fish in the professional-publishing pond, at least eight times larger than their nearest competitor. Bloomberg, besides expanding its terminals business, which has over 300,000 customers (at about $20,000 a pop), is pushing into government-related news and data…
“So what happened to Mr Glocer’s winning streak? His allies say his departure was always just a matter of time: once a firm buys another, it completes the takeover by putting its own people in charge. The Thomson family still owns 55% of the company, and some think the generous price [$17.2 billion] Mr Glocer secured from Thomson for Reuters made him all the more vulnerable.
“But he might have stayed longer were it not for a mix of bad luck and overconfidence. Eikon, intended to replace Reuters’ grab bag of services with a single offering, was designed to be more user-friendly than Bloomberg’s devices, but it was launched hastily and with flaws. With hindsight, a more gradual upgrade might have been more prudent.”
Perhaps Glocer’s replacement James Smith can do better, The Economist said. “He will almost certainly have a freer hand, and some upgrades to Eikon are planned for next year. But these are still stormy seas.” According to Claudio Aspesi, an analyst at investment bank Sanford C. Bernstein, it took most professional-publishing firms three to four years to recover from the 2001 recession. This time, Bernstein predicts, revenue growth at Thomson Reuters will not reach pre-crash levels until at least 2015.
One area of potential growth, though, is trading services. Changes in financial regulation in America and Europe will force a lot of trading in derivatives from the murky world of private “over-the-counter” deals onto exchanges, where contracts will be standardised and prices quoted. This presents both Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg with an opportunity to gather and sell data on these markets and perhaps to capture a share of the trade by linking banks and their clients through their own electronic trading platforms. The market for these derivatives is gigantic. A competitive edge there could make a big difference to both companies’ fortunes.
● SOURCE The Economist
New Thomson Reuters CEO backs editorial hiring plans - Stephen Adler
Wednesday 07 December 2011
Thomson Reuters’ new chief executive James Smith supports Reuters’ editorial growth strategy, Stephen Adler, editor-in-chief, said and will not curtail his hiring spree.
“We’re full speed ahead,” Adler told The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch website.
Some media analysts aren’t quite so sure, columnist Jon Friedman said. They suggest that Smith’s promotion as replacement for CEO Tom Glocer signifies the company’s desire to undercut Adler’s go-go spending ways. They believe that Thomson Reuters’ challenges will force Adler, appointed to the top editorial job in February, to curtail the big spending and eventually shrink the size of his staff.
Friedman said Adler couldn’t have sounded more confident that Smith, who takes over on 1 January, will continue to have “an extraordinary commitment” to Adler’s strategy of investing heavily to strengthen its commitment to enterprise reporting and to recruit journalists such as the WSJ’s Michael Williams and Bloomberg television executive Dan Colarusso.
“Adler said he, too, has heard the whispers from Thomson Reuters’ critics but declared: ‘This doesn’t change anything’,” Friedman wrote.
“What’s also not likely to change is the industry’s confusion about what Adler wants to accomplish,” Friedman wrote. “Does he want his operation to be true to its roots as a British-based wire service that reports doggedly on financial markets or a gleaming long-form journalism operation that wants to be known for its enterprise and investigative reporting? Can Adler make both sides co-exist?”
Adler has tried hard to change the culture of Reuters by wooing a plethora of non-wire-service journalists, Friedman said. “He is betting that he can maintain a strong position in the meat-and-potatoes work of covering the financial markets while making a name for Reuters in enterprise writing.
“In his first year, Adler and his team have succeeded in changing the company’s rather stodgy image. Now, they must find a way to continue the momentum at a time when the world at large expects him to rein in his growth plans.”
● SOURCE MarketWatch
“We’re full speed ahead,” Adler told The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch website.
Some media analysts aren’t quite so sure, columnist Jon Friedman said. They suggest that Smith’s promotion as replacement for CEO Tom Glocer signifies the company’s desire to undercut Adler’s go-go spending ways. They believe that Thomson Reuters’ challenges will force Adler, appointed to the top editorial job in February, to curtail the big spending and eventually shrink the size of his staff.
Friedman said Adler couldn’t have sounded more confident that Smith, who takes over on 1 January, will continue to have “an extraordinary commitment” to Adler’s strategy of investing heavily to strengthen its commitment to enterprise reporting and to recruit journalists such as the WSJ’s Michael Williams and Bloomberg television executive Dan Colarusso.
“Adler said he, too, has heard the whispers from Thomson Reuters’ critics but declared: ‘This doesn’t change anything’,” Friedman wrote.
“What’s also not likely to change is the industry’s confusion about what Adler wants to accomplish,” Friedman wrote. “Does he want his operation to be true to its roots as a British-based wire service that reports doggedly on financial markets or a gleaming long-form journalism operation that wants to be known for its enterprise and investigative reporting? Can Adler make both sides co-exist?”
Adler has tried hard to change the culture of Reuters by wooing a plethora of non-wire-service journalists, Friedman said. “He is betting that he can maintain a strong position in the meat-and-potatoes work of covering the financial markets while making a name for Reuters in enterprise writing.
“In his first year, Adler and his team have succeeded in changing the company’s rather stodgy image. Now, they must find a way to continue the momentum at a time when the world at large expects him to rein in his growth plans.”
● SOURCE MarketWatch
Executive changes beginning of the end of turbulent period - new CEO
Friday 02 December 2011
“Thomson Reuters is a company built to win in the information age,” he said in a message to the group’s 55,000 employees. “We have sustainable franchises. We have differentiating competitive advantage in many areas. And – most importantly – we have talented, dedicated people.
“We do many things very well. But there are some things we must do better. Yesterday’s announcement sets in place our next-generation leadership team. It is the beginning of the end of a turbulent period of executive changes. As I have said before, I believe business is a team sport.” The executives appointed to head new business units form a world-class team of operators that will lead to great heights in years to come.
Among the team’s first tasks will be completion of the organisation design work of the past several weeks. “That effort carries the project name ‘Customer First,’ because we are organizing our business around our customers and their needs. That customer theme is at the top of the list of things we must do better.
“Simplifying the organization and our approach to customers is another. Those will be guiding principles.”
Smith said he intended to focus on
● Defining and pursuing the most promising growth vectors in financial services
● Continuing to broaden the company’s value proposition beyond core content and research with high-value tools, software and services
● Exploiting its unique position at the intersection of regulation and finance
● Accelerating development of the business in fast-growing geographies around the world
● Simplifying internal commercial policies and practices
● Improving underlying technology platforms and dramatically improving product quality and customer experience
● Making Thomson Reuters the best place in the world to work.
Smith, chief operating officer until the change of command takes effect, promised an update on the new operating model before the year ends.
He added: “I accepted the CEO job with a great sense of personal excitement and gratitude to the many people who have been responsible for my success. That includes Tom Glocer. His shoes will be impossible to fill; I will have to do the job in my own way. But I also accepted with a deep sense of duty and commitment to the tens of thousands of my colleagues who have dedicated their talents, efforts and professional lives to this organization. Business may begin and end with the customer, but it is the Thomson Reuters people in the middle who make it all happen.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Tom Glocer out as Thomson family appoints new CEO
Thursday 01 December 2011
The Financial Times quoted people close to the company as saying that David Thomson, chairman, and Geoffrey Beattie, the Canadian family’s consigliere who runs its investment vehicle Woodbridge, have been frustrated with the Thomson Reuters share price, which has fallen from above $41 to $27.22 this year.
The company has undergone a series of structural changes and management shake-ups over the past six months to address the disappointing performance of its markets division, which was essentially the old Reuters and mainly served financial institutions.
Glocer, 52, pictured left, has led Thomson Reuters since 2008, when Canada’s Thomson family completed its acquisition of Reuters. A mergers and acquisitions lawyer, he joined Reuters in 1993 and became the agency’s first American chief executive and the first not to have been a journalist in 2001.
He negotiated Reuters’ sale to the owner of Thomson Financial shortly before the global financial crisis. The merged group enjoyed almost three years of better than expected cost savings from the deal, but has struggled in the last year to roll out a financial services product called Eikon that was meant to unify the two legacy companies’ multiple data products.
By replacing him, the Thomson family effectively removes the last senior Reuters executive from the merged company’s top echelon.
Smith, pictured right, is a former journalist who joined the Thomson Newspaper Group in 1987. Until a few months ago he was head of the professional unit, which sells legal, tax and accounting products. That business has weathered the financial crisis much better than markets.
“By the end of the year, the organizational strategy and budget work I have been leading will be complete, and the transition plan I launched last summer will have achieved its objectives,” Glocer said in a statement. “Jim Smith is a very talented executive with whom I have worked closely over the past four years; he is ready to lead Thomson Reuters.”
The company’s stock has lost about 30 per cent of its value over the past six months as its banking and financial customers laid off thousands of employees and slashed costs.
David Thomson said in a statement: “Tom will be remembered as the individual who turned around Reuters ten years ago, led the company to growth and guided its sale to form Thomson Reuters. Over the past four years, Tom successfully directed an extensive integration, expanded our business internationally, revitalized the Reuters news organization and championed talent across the entire business. The board joins me in thanking Tom for his dedication and service to our company and wishes the very best for him and his family.”
He added: “Jim Smith will provide strong leadership for Thomson Reuters at this juncture. He has earned the respect and confidence of his colleagues and the board alike. His instincts and his customer focus have been the basis of a remarkable career in our business.
“Working with Tom Glocer, the board oversaw the successful execution of an established succession plan in the second half of 2011 and we look forward to beginning the new year with a new management team, new organizational structure, and ever stronger commitment to deliver long-term, sustainable value for all shareholders.”
The new organisational structure will consist of the following business units: financial and risk, legal, intellectual property and science, tax and accounting, and global growth organisation.
● VIDEO
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters | Reuters | The New York Times | Financial Times
Tom Glocer sees great things ahead for news
Tuesday 22 November 2011
Many people at Thomson Reuters are tired of organisational change and the rumour mill is hyperactive, CEO Tom Glocer said on Tuesday, but many of the group’s businesses are growing strongly and he sees great things ahead for news as a core distinguishing asset for the whole company.
The company’s financial position is rock-solid, the balance sheet is strong and the credit rating excellent, he said in a message to the group’s 55,000 staff worldwide as Americans prepare to celebrate Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Robert Daleo has done an exemplary job as chief financial officer and the transition to Stephane Bello is going smoothly.
Glocer said that before the year is out decisions will be taken and announced and 2012 will begin with a shared road map for success. “Meanwhile, the best thing you can do from any perspective is to stay focused on meeting your 2011 objectives.”
He told employees: “We can feel good about the work under way to rekindle growth in the businesses that have been struggling. I have been leading a major strategy effort focused on the financial information market, which I reviewed with our Board just last week. In some areas we have a steep climb ahead, but we have what it takes ultimately to succeed and I am working closely with the leaders of those businesses to get us back on the path to robust growth.”
Glocer mentioned powerful growth in the group’s enterprise, trading marketplaces, legal, tax and accounting, and intellectual property and science businesses. Regionally, the company was growing in rapidly developing markets in Asia, the Middle East/Africa, and Latin America.
“I am working directly with Media and Editorial, and I can tell you first-hand that we have built the strongest news organization I’ve seen in my 18 years working here. I see great things ahead for News as a core distinguishing asset for the whole company.”
Glocer said he was working together with chief operations officer James Smith to align the company with its customers’ evolving needs. “From talking to colleagues across our businesses, though, I know that many people are tired of organizational change and that the rumor mill is hyperactive. I understand. Change and the uncertainty that comes with it are hard to handle.”
He said a new operating model called Customer First was taking time because Smith was collaborating with the group’s business and functional leaders to get it right.
“Yes, our markets are changing. That’s true for most big companies these days. The fact that we are changing to keep pace may be a source of anxiety for some, but overall it should be a source of comfort. Any company that tries to stand still today will find itself moving backward,” he said. “This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all the good things about our company and that Thomson Reuters is blessed with many thousands of talented people who will settle for nothing less than excellence.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
The company’s financial position is rock-solid, the balance sheet is strong and the credit rating excellent, he said in a message to the group’s 55,000 staff worldwide as Americans prepare to celebrate Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Robert Daleo has done an exemplary job as chief financial officer and the transition to Stephane Bello is going smoothly.
Glocer said that before the year is out decisions will be taken and announced and 2012 will begin with a shared road map for success. “Meanwhile, the best thing you can do from any perspective is to stay focused on meeting your 2011 objectives.”
He told employees: “We can feel good about the work under way to rekindle growth in the businesses that have been struggling. I have been leading a major strategy effort focused on the financial information market, which I reviewed with our Board just last week. In some areas we have a steep climb ahead, but we have what it takes ultimately to succeed and I am working closely with the leaders of those businesses to get us back on the path to robust growth.”
Glocer mentioned powerful growth in the group’s enterprise, trading marketplaces, legal, tax and accounting, and intellectual property and science businesses. Regionally, the company was growing in rapidly developing markets in Asia, the Middle East/Africa, and Latin America.
“I am working directly with Media and Editorial, and I can tell you first-hand that we have built the strongest news organization I’ve seen in my 18 years working here. I see great things ahead for News as a core distinguishing asset for the whole company.”
Glocer said he was working together with chief operations officer James Smith to align the company with its customers’ evolving needs. “From talking to colleagues across our businesses, though, I know that many people are tired of organizational change and that the rumor mill is hyperactive. I understand. Change and the uncertainty that comes with it are hard to handle.”
He said a new operating model called Customer First was taking time because Smith was collaborating with the group’s business and functional leaders to get it right.
“Yes, our markets are changing. That’s true for most big companies these days. The fact that we are changing to keep pace may be a source of anxiety for some, but overall it should be a source of comfort. Any company that tries to stand still today will find itself moving backward,” he said. “This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all the good things about our company and that Thomson Reuters is blessed with many thousands of talented people who will settle for nothing less than excellence.”
● SOURCE Thomson Reuters
Tom Glocer: ‘We’re not magicians’
Tuesday 01 November 2011
Benefits of the recent reorganisation at Thomson Reuters may not fully kick in until 2013, chief executive Tom Glocer said on Tuesday.
“We’re not magicians,” he said in an interview after the company reported a higher-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit and revenue.
Glocer was interviewed in New York by Reuters’ media correspondent Jennifer Saba who said he is under pressure from the board and the controlling shareholder, Canada's Thomson family, to increase the group’s market share, particularly for its financial industry products. Sources familiar with the board's thinking said in July he had about a year to make that happen, she reported.
In September Thomson Reuters said it would merge its two operating divisions – the strongly performing professional serving mainly lawyers and accountants, and the struggling markets, which targets banks and other financial institutions.
“We expect the benefit of these changes will improve sales performance in 2012 and benefit 2013 revenue growth,” Glocer said in a statement accompanying the Q3 release.
“What is clear at this point is that 2012 will not look particularly good,” said Claudio Aspesi, a London analyst. “Things are going to get worse before they get better ... even 2013 is a statement of optimistic faith in a recovery.”
Glocer said conditions remained tough in the financial markets. “But that’s not a good enough excuse as various competitors were still able to grow their businesses," he said in a memo to staff. The company would grow by driving sales in fast-growing markets and taking share in slower ones, he said.
As part of the September shakeup, James Smith, former head of the professional division, was elevated to the new role of chief operating officer, putting him in a strong position to succeed Glocer.
● SOURCE Reuters
“We’re not magicians,” he said in an interview after the company reported a higher-than-expected rise in third-quarter profit and revenue.
Glocer was interviewed in New York by Reuters’ media correspondent Jennifer Saba who said he is under pressure from the board and the controlling shareholder, Canada's Thomson family, to increase the group’s market share, particularly for its financial industry products. Sources familiar with the board's thinking said in July he had about a year to make that happen, she reported.
In September Thomson Reuters said it would merge its two operating divisions – the strongly performing professional serving mainly lawyers and accountants, and the struggling markets, which targets banks and other financial institutions.
“We expect the benefit of these changes will improve sales performance in 2012 and benefit 2013 revenue growth,” Glocer said in a statement accompanying the Q3 release.
“What is clear at this point is that 2012 will not look particularly good,” said Claudio Aspesi, a London analyst. “Things are going to get worse before they get better ... even 2013 is a statement of optimistic faith in a recovery.”
Glocer said conditions remained tough in the financial markets. “But that’s not a good enough excuse as various competitors were still able to grow their businesses," he said in a memo to staff. The company would grow by driving sales in fast-growing markets and taking share in slower ones, he said.
As part of the September shakeup, James Smith, former head of the professional division, was elevated to the new role of chief operating officer, putting him in a strong position to succeed Glocer.
● SOURCE Reuters
Thomson Reuters Q3 earnings beat estimates
Tuesday 01 November 2011
Thomson Reuters’ third-quarter profit rose by 10 per cent, higher than expected, as strength in its professional division offset weakness in the markets business.
The company, in Q3 results announced on Tuesday, reaffirmed its outlook for 2011 as its margins improved.
In September the company said it would merge the professional division, which serves mainly lawyers and accountants, with the struggling markets division, which targets banks and other financial institutions.
“We expect the benefit of these changes will improve sales performance in 2012 and benefit 2013 revenue growth,” chief executive Tom Glocer said in a statement.
Markets accounts for about 58 per cent of overall group revenue. The division posted revenue growth of just one per cent as banks continued to slash jobs and costs.
The company has also been hurt by the slow uptake of its new Eikon desktop product for traders and analysts, Reuters reported. It sold or migrated 32,000 Eikons by the end of September, up from 28,000 three months earlier.
“Conditions were challenging in some of our markets, but that’s not a good enough excuse as various competitors were still able to grow their businesses,” Glocer said in a memo to staff. The company would grow by driving sales in fast-growing markets and taking share in slower ones, he said.
In July Reuters reported sources familiar with board thinking saying Glocer was under pressure from directors and the company’s controlling shareholder, Canada’s Thomson family, to improve performance. At that time, sources said he had about a year to make that happen.
James Smith, former head of the professional division, was elevated to the new role of chief operating officer in September, putting him in a strong position to succeed Glocer.
Thomson Reuters reported third-quarter revenue of $3.26 billion, up five per cent before currency changes. Analysts had expected $3.23 billion.
Revenue in the professional division, which accounts for 42 per cent of overall revenue, increased 10 per cent after growing eight per cent in the second quarter. The one per cent revenue growth in markets was unchanged from the second quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share rose to 56 cents from 45 cents in the same quarter last year. Analysts had expected 53 cents.
Thomson Reuters said it still expects revenue to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage rate in 2011.
The company’s underlying operating margin improved to 22 per cent, from 21.2 per cent a year earlier.
Thomson Reuters shares have fallen 20 per cent this year, worse than the market at large.
● SOURCE Reuters
The company, in Q3 results announced on Tuesday, reaffirmed its outlook for 2011 as its margins improved.
In September the company said it would merge the professional division, which serves mainly lawyers and accountants, with the struggling markets division, which targets banks and other financial institutions.
“We expect the benefit of these changes will improve sales performance in 2012 and benefit 2013 revenue growth,” chief executive Tom Glocer said in a statement.
Markets accounts for about 58 per cent of overall group revenue. The division posted revenue growth of just one per cent as banks continued to slash jobs and costs.
The company has also been hurt by the slow uptake of its new Eikon desktop product for traders and analysts, Reuters reported. It sold or migrated 32,000 Eikons by the end of September, up from 28,000 three months earlier.
“Conditions were challenging in some of our markets, but that’s not a good enough excuse as various competitors were still able to grow their businesses,” Glocer said in a memo to staff. The company would grow by driving sales in fast-growing markets and taking share in slower ones, he said.
In July Reuters reported sources familiar with board thinking saying Glocer was under pressure from directors and the company’s controlling shareholder, Canada’s Thomson family, to improve performance. At that time, sources said he had about a year to make that happen.
James Smith, former head of the professional division, was elevated to the new role of chief operating officer in September, putting him in a strong position to succeed Glocer.
Thomson Reuters reported third-quarter revenue of $3.26 billion, up five per cent before currency changes. Analysts had expected $3.23 billion.
Revenue in the professional division, which accounts for 42 per cent of overall revenue, increased 10 per cent after growing eight per cent in the second quarter. The one per cent revenue growth in markets was unchanged from the second quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share rose to 56 cents from 45 cents in the same quarter last year. Analysts had expected 53 cents.
Thomson Reuters said it still expects revenue to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage rate in 2011.
The company’s underlying operating margin improved to 22 per cent, from 21.2 per cent a year earlier.
Thomson Reuters shares have fallen 20 per cent this year, worse than the market at large.
● SOURCE Reuters
James Smith aims for change plan by 1 January
Wednesday 05 October 2011
A new drive for sales growth will be backed by an organisation which puts the customer at the heart of every decision. “Any changes we make will be guided by this simple operating principle,” he told staff on Wednesday.
Smith, appointed COO a week ago, said a small team would facilitate dialogue on how to best shape internal efforts and direct resources to support customer-facing businesses.
“We will tackle our work in multiple steps. The first step will be locking down the organisation and the operating plan that must be in place on January 1. We need credible, realistic budgets as well as management teams who are committed to delivering. We also must establish the operating mechanisms and rhythms that will support greater teamwork and the transparent flow of information across the company,” he said.
“The next steps will be further structured dialogues that will guide the evolution of our thinking about key strategic and operating issues. My commitment to you is that these will be open conversations, involving multiple voices from across the business.”
Smith said some decisions would be made fairly quickly; others would take longer. “But all will be the result of open dialogue and a desire to promote agility, speed decision-making and place authority and accountability as close as possible to the front lines.”
● SOURCE Reuters
Another major shake-up as Thomson Reuters disbands dual structure
Wednesday 28 September 2011
In the second major management shake-up in two months, Thomson Reuters disbanded its two-division structure on Wednesday and promoted a senior executive to the new role of chief operating officer. Tom Glocer remains chief executive. Robert Daleo, chief financial officer, will leave next year.
The company said James Smith, chief executive officer of the professional division, would become chief operating officer immediately. At the same time, the professional and markets divisions are disbanded and will “transition to a set of focused business units” reporting to head office.
Both Daleo and Smith were Thomson Corporation executives when the Toronto-based company bought Reuters in 2008.
“The changes we are announcing today will streamline our organization and enable us to work better across business units to achieve growth and capture operating efficiencies from scale,” said Glocer. “The professional markets in which we operate are marked by increasing collaboration among specialists and Thomson Reuters must operate with the speed and agility needed to serve these demanding professionals.”
Daleo, chief financial officer since 1998, will retire in July 2012 when he turns 63. Stephane Bello, chief financial officer of the professional division, will succeed him as chief financial officer of Thomson Reuters, effective 1 January 2012. Daleo will then serve as vice-chairman of the group until his retirement.
David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters, said: “Bob Daleo has guided the financial operations of the company for more than a decade through three chief executives. Retirement has been anticipated for some time and we shall miss the presence of a trusted and valued colleague. Bob’s contributions to the businesses have been immense. Our evolution into a global electronic information company owes a great debt to him. Bob’s advice and leadership will be sorely missed, but those qualities remain in place over the months ahead to all our benefit.”
“Stephane Bello is the perfect choice to succeed Bob because of his strategic and analytical strengths, proven leadership abilities and deep knowledge of the company and our markets,” said Glocer. “He will work closely with Bob, Jim and me over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition and uphold the high standards of integrity and financial reporting set by Bob Daleo.”
Following the sudden departure in July of Devin Wenig, head of markets, Thomson Reuters promoted Smith, chief executive of the professional division that caters to lawyers, accountants and scientists, to the new role of chief operating officer.
The Financial Times reported that the latest moves take some burden from Glocer, who took hands-on control of markets after Wenig’s exit, which was seen as a sign of the group’s controlling shareholder, Canada’s Thomson family, exerting tighter control.
Glocer told the FT that the split into markets and professional divisions had made sense when Thomson Corporation bought Reuters and needed to concentrate on merging its financial data businesses without distracting its professional units.
“Certainly for the first two years it worked very well like that. This year, I concluded markets wasn’t coming out of the integration the way it needed to and I had to take the first step in July,” he said. “In the perfect world, markets would have been growing faster this year and I would have moved in an orderly way to this structure” in 2012, he said.
The FT said Smith’s promotion could elevate his standing as a possible internal successor to Glocer, who said: “He’s always been in the frame as far as I’m concerned, but I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
In a message to staff, Glocer said his strategic goals were simple: to work better across business units to meet the increasingly complex demands of customers and capture growth opportunities; to leverage Thomson Reuters’ scale and achieve efficiencies by building innovative technology platforms that can be shared across the company; and to square off against competitors as a whole company which is greater than the sum of its parts.
He said the priorities he set in July for the markets division of restarting the sales engine and resetting Eikon in the context of the company’s broader product strategy had not changed, nor had the goal of creating a strong performance culture.
“These last two months acting as both CEO of Thomson Reuters and CEO of the Markets division have convinced me of two important things. First, no matter what labels we apply to our units, we have great people who are eager to work together to better serve our customers and grow our company. Second, this must be a team effort but with clearly defined roles and accountability for performance. I am looking forward to working closely with Jim, Bob, Stephane and our other leaders to achieve success and excellence at Thomson Reuters.”
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
The company said James Smith, chief executive officer of the professional division, would become chief operating officer immediately. At the same time, the professional and markets divisions are disbanded and will “transition to a set of focused business units” reporting to head office.
Both Daleo and Smith were Thomson Corporation executives when the Toronto-based company bought Reuters in 2008.
“The changes we are announcing today will streamline our organization and enable us to work better across business units to achieve growth and capture operating efficiencies from scale,” said Glocer. “The professional markets in which we operate are marked by increasing collaboration among specialists and Thomson Reuters must operate with the speed and agility needed to serve these demanding professionals.”
Daleo, chief financial officer since 1998, will retire in July 2012 when he turns 63. Stephane Bello, chief financial officer of the professional division, will succeed him as chief financial officer of Thomson Reuters, effective 1 January 2012. Daleo will then serve as vice-chairman of the group until his retirement.
David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters, said: “Bob Daleo has guided the financial operations of the company for more than a decade through three chief executives. Retirement has been anticipated for some time and we shall miss the presence of a trusted and valued colleague. Bob’s contributions to the businesses have been immense. Our evolution into a global electronic information company owes a great debt to him. Bob’s advice and leadership will be sorely missed, but those qualities remain in place over the months ahead to all our benefit.”
“Stephane Bello is the perfect choice to succeed Bob because of his strategic and analytical strengths, proven leadership abilities and deep knowledge of the company and our markets,” said Glocer. “He will work closely with Bob, Jim and me over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition and uphold the high standards of integrity and financial reporting set by Bob Daleo.”
Following the sudden departure in July of Devin Wenig, head of markets, Thomson Reuters promoted Smith, chief executive of the professional division that caters to lawyers, accountants and scientists, to the new role of chief operating officer.
The Financial Times reported that the latest moves take some burden from Glocer, who took hands-on control of markets after Wenig’s exit, which was seen as a sign of the group’s controlling shareholder, Canada’s Thomson family, exerting tighter control.
Glocer told the FT that the split into markets and professional divisions had made sense when Thomson Corporation bought Reuters and needed to concentrate on merging its financial data businesses without distracting its professional units.
“Certainly for the first two years it worked very well like that. This year, I concluded markets wasn’t coming out of the integration the way it needed to and I had to take the first step in July,” he said. “In the perfect world, markets would have been growing faster this year and I would have moved in an orderly way to this structure” in 2012, he said.
The FT said Smith’s promotion could elevate his standing as a possible internal successor to Glocer, who said: “He’s always been in the frame as far as I’m concerned, but I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
In a message to staff, Glocer said his strategic goals were simple: to work better across business units to meet the increasingly complex demands of customers and capture growth opportunities; to leverage Thomson Reuters’ scale and achieve efficiencies by building innovative technology platforms that can be shared across the company; and to square off against competitors as a whole company which is greater than the sum of its parts.
He said the priorities he set in July for the markets division of restarting the sales engine and resetting Eikon in the context of the company’s broader product strategy had not changed, nor had the goal of creating a strong performance culture.
“These last two months acting as both CEO of Thomson Reuters and CEO of the Markets division have convinced me of two important things. First, no matter what labels we apply to our units, we have great people who are eager to work together to better serve our customers and grow our company. Second, this must be a team effort but with clearly defined roles and accountability for performance. I am looking forward to working closely with Jim, Bob, Stephane and our other leaders to achieve success and excellence at Thomson Reuters.”
● SOURCE Reuters | Financial Times
