Toronto: Thomson Reuters Corp.’s board threw its support behind Chief Executive Officer Jim Smith after the Financial Times said the professional information company has hired an executive search firm to identify a successor.
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The board appointed Spencer Stuart to draw up a shortlist of internal and external candidates, the paper said, citing people with knowledge of the succession process. Co-chief operating officer Neil Masterson was one internal contender, it said.
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“The board and management continuously assess internal candidates and work with search firms to scan the external market,” the Toronto-based company said in response, adding that it saw executive succession planning as a matter of good governance.
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It said the board fully supports the 60-year-old CEO and his management team.
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Smith has spent much of his seven-year tenure focusing on growing parts of the business such as law and accounting. He sold a majority stake in the company’s financial information and trading arm to a Blackstone-led consortium last year and the London Stock Exchange Group Plc agreed in August to buy the business, now known as Refinitiv.
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The sale is due to close in the second half of next year, leaving Thomson Reuters with a stake in the LSE that it plans to gradually sell down. The company kept the Reuters news agency that competes with Bloomberg News.
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