Thomson Reuters starting to feel 'coherent, focused'

There is lots more to do and there are more challenges to come - hold tight for another amazing year, he has told staff.

“We recently held our holiday parties and I have to say that I wasn’t sure how people would react to these parties, given our focus on costs and the uncertainty in the market,” Wenig said in a year-end message. “I think people really had a great time and they understand that our goal was simply to say thanks for an extraordinary effort in an extraordinary year.

“As someone said to me in New York, anybody that has a party in this market environment must be winning!

“And what an amazing year it’s been - no-one could have predicted even a year ago the pace of change that we have seen inside our organization but also what’s happening to the markets and to our customers.

“It’s been a year of highs and lows, of things to celebrate, of getting to know new friends and colleagues, and saying goodbye to colleagues who are no longer with us. And, sadly, it’s also saying goodbye to long-standing institutions like Lehman Brothers who had been a loyal customer and supporter of ours for many, many years.”

It has been a year of firsts, Wenig said - the first year as a new company, the first year of serving a new and diverse customer base and the first year of making a significant step change in service.

“But we had two other important firsts this year. We won our first Pulitzer prize – won by Reuters News for breaking news photography taken by Adrees Latif. And then just recently, we won our first Emmy in recognition of Reuters News and our role in the pursuit of truth and our contribution to society. The Emmy, for lifetime achievement in journalism, was awarded to our own Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger. I’m incredibly proud of these two achievements, particularly as they come from the US, a part of the world where Reuters News has not always been as well known but is now gaining a really important place in the markets and with our clients.

“Let’s not forget what we were able to achieve together. We’ve pulled the business together; we’ve met our customers’ high expectations of service and benefits; we’ve exceeded our targets for the integration; and we’ve continued to deliver growth in the most challenging market of a lifetime. Most importantly, we’re on a path to become one company in one year. I hear a lot more people these days talk about Thomson Reuters rather than Thomson Financial or Reuters. It’s starting to feel like a coherent, focused business. We have a lot more to do and many challenges to come but I will enter 2009 with the optimism of knowing we have great people, great assets and a focused and high performing team.

“So we’re coming to the end of a rollercoaster year and I want you to know how grateful I am for all of your hard work; for putting up with the pains of integration and for helping me to build the great company that I dream about for all of us.

“Thank you and I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends over the holiday period. I know that many of you will be working around the world over the holidays and keeping our content and news flowing - and I thank you for that.

“So here’s to 2009… get some rest and get ready to hold on tight for what undoubtedly will be another amazing year.” ■