December 1, 2011

The New York Times - Decoder

Glocer, Chief Executive of Thomson Reuters, Is Being Replaced

Thomson Reuters said Thursday that it was replacing its chief executive, Thomas H. Glocer, who had struggled to turn around the financial news and information service in an increasingly competitive market.

James C. Smith, Thomson Reuters’s chief operating officer, will replace Mr. Glocer beginning Jan. 1.

The switch comes at a tumultuous time for the company, which has a market capitalization of about $22 billion. In the struggling economy, fewer companies are willing to pay for the financial tools and market analysis that Reuters provides on expensive desktop terminals. Reuters also faces competition from rivals like Bloomberg L.P., FactSet Research Systems and Dow Jones, part of News Corporation.

Its markets division mainly serves banks and brokerage houses and accounts for 60 percent of overall revenue. The company was late to the market with its Eikon desktop product and, in the view of many clients, it was not up to the standards of competing technology from Bloomberg.

“Thomson Reuters has been losing the bake-off,” said Douglas B Taylor, the managing director of Burton-Taylor International Consulting LLC, a company that tracks the financial information business. Not only have Bloomberg and, to a smaller degree, other firms been taking customers away from Thomson Reuters, Mr. Taylor said, but the company has also been largely unsuccessful in attracting new clients.

In July, Thomson Reuters announced the departure of a half-dozen executives, including Devin N. Wenig, the market division’s chief executive.

Mr. Glocer, 56, subsequently assumed responsibility for the markets division.

“By the end of this 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,” Mr. Glocer said in a statement. Of his replacement, Mr. Glocer said: “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 announcement came after the markets closed on Thursday.

In 2007, the Thomson Corporation agreed to pay $7 billion for Reuters. At the time many were surprised that Mr. Glocer was picked to lead the combined operation. Richard J. Harrington, Thomson’s chief at the time, retired as soon as the transaction closed.

The Thomson family, through its private holding company, Woodbridge, has a 55 percent stake in Thomson Reuters.

A former journalist, Mr. Smith, 52, joined the Thomson Newspaper group in 1987 and has held several positions, including leading the division that sells tax, legal and accounting products.

David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters, said in a statement: “Tom successfully directed an extensive integration, expanded our business internationally, revitalized the Reuters news organization and championed talent across the entire business.”
by Amy Chozick