Thomson family has changed its management style

For two generations, Canada’s Thomson family has taken a hands-off approach to managing Thomson Corp., which merged with Reuters Group PLC in 2008. But investors are dissatisfied with the merged company’s stock performance, and now third-generation chairman David Thomson “is playing a more assertive role,” according to

a

Wall Street Journal

report.

Last year, Thomson orchestrated a management shake-up at the company, and last month he replaced Geoff Beattie, who headed the family’s holding company, the

Journal

report noted. The holding company, called Woodbridge Co., owns 55% of Thomson Reuters. Beattie had championed the merger with Reuters. There had been “months of tension” between Thomson and Beattie, the

Journal

article said. Beattie will continue as vice chairman of Thomson Reuters.

The

Journal

report also noted that the Thomson family has changed the way it manages its businesses. For 50 years, they focused on buying and selling assets; now, Woodbridge “is retooled to become a more traditional holding company with a focus on income rather than new acquisitions,” the article said. Some of Woodbridge’s other holdings may be restructured.

The new president and CEO of Woodbridge, David Binet, will join Beattie on the Thomson Reuters board, thus increasing the family’s representation, the

Journal

article said. (Source:

Wall Street Journal,

Dec. 5, 2012.)