Reuters CEO returns to M&A with Thomson deal

LONDON (Reuters) - Crafting mergers and acquisitions was Tom Glocer's specialty before he joined Reuters 14 years ago; over the past few years, his forte has been cutting costs and streamlining the 156-year-old news and data company.

The 47-year-old American chief executive will be calling on all those skills, as well as his reputed technical savvy, to combine London-based Reuters with Canadian electronic publisher Thomson Corp..

As part of the agreed deal, the companies have agreed the top job at what would be the world's biggest financial news and information supplier would go to Glocer, the first Reuters CEO not to have worked his way up through the newsroom. For more on the deal, click on

Glocer was born in New York City, and his career took shape after he received a political science degree from Columbia University and graduated from Yale Law School.

Bruce Golden, a partner at venture capital firm Accel in London who was at Columbia with Glocer and has stayed in touch, said the CEO's strengths go beyond traditional boardroom skills.

"He is intellectually curious and also technology aware," Golden said, adding that Glocer was "consistently in the hunt for cutting-edge technology."

That interest in technology has taken unexpected turns.

Glocer was instrumental in Reuters decision to set up a "news bureau" in Second Life, a virtual world on the Internet. And, like a small but growing number of top executives, he has his own blog (tomglocer.com).

The site carries pictures, video, speeches, musings and cartoons. Among his favourite bands: The Grateful Dead.