CEO James Smith: TR stabilised, its credibility restored

“Our foundation has been strengthened. Our credibility has been restored. We’ve planted stronger roots in emerging markets. Our financial business has been put on a course to thrive, not just to survive,” he said in a video message to the group’s 60,000 employees.

In a world of sweeping changes, customers need Thomson Reuters to be more responsive and to innovate faster than ever before. “To do that effectively, we need to change. We need to change some of the ways we behave inside the company. We need to simplify our business. We need to respond to opportunities more quickly. We need to better align resources behind our most promising growth opportunities. We need to do a better job of sharing resources across the organisation. And we need to attack internal bureaucracy once and for all.”

Announcing the appointment of Neil Masterson, who leads the Financial & Risk division’s investors’ business, to the corporate team as full-time chief transformation officer, Smith said there would be “a broad-based dialogue to help us shift from a portfolio of businesses to a true enterprise that is focused on innovating for our customers...

“I don’t for one minute think that this will be easy,” Smith said. “I know we’ll have to take many tough decisions to redirect our efforts toward our future potential. What got us here simply won’t get us there. But our rich heritage allows us to build from a position of strength. No-one is better positioned to help professionals navigate the information age by connecting professional communities, supporting innovation, and discovering and powering global commerce. No-one is better positioned to provide our customers with unrivaled operating systems and work-flow tools built on the back of trusted, authoritative and relevant intelligence.”

He added: “We aspire to nothing less than redefining the intersection of information and technology. And that opportunity is well within our grasp.” ■