LONDON (AP) — Reuters Group PLC said Wednesday it has appointed its first American to lead the company to succeed chief executive Peter Job, who retires in July.

The group's new head will be Tom Glocer, 41, currently the chief executive of both its Reuters Information and Reuters America Inc. divisions. He joined Reuters in 1993 from the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions.

Job, Reuters' chief executive since 1991, will retire upon turning 60. His retirement has been expected, and Reuters said it began looking for a successor last October.

Glocer, who will take over in July, has built a "remarkable reputation," Reuters chairman Sir Christopher Hogg said in a statement.

"He is smart, decisive, questioning, but tough, and importantly is internationally aware and experienced," Hogg said. "Above all, he is very customer-focused with a fine understanding of Reuters' markets and relevant technology. He will ensure the Reuters brand will be well cared for."

Glocer, who lives in New York City, graduated from Columbia College in 1981 and Yale Law School in 1984.

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Reuters shares soared 8 percent on the announcement of his appointment, reaching 12.77 pounds ($18.26) a share in midday trading in London.

Job leaves Reuters with a strong focus on Internet-related information services. The group reported a 16 percent jump in revenues for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, with a particularly strong result at its electronic brokerage service Instinet.

Reuters is expected to sell as much as 25 percent of its stake in Instinet, a service estimated to be worth at least $4.4 billion.

Reuters hasn't yet committed to a date for selling a stake in its Greenhouse Fund, which has 79 investments in start-up dot-com businesses.

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