FOBM: Q&A with Reuters COO

Last stop on the FOBM blogging trail today is some commentary on an interview with Devin Wenig, Reuters COO.

When asked about the Thomson/Reuters merger, Devin’s first stop was culture.

“The number one priority is that when these two large companies come together they’re one company not two - one business one culture.”

While I commend him on that goal, he went on to say that Thomson is “not taking Reuters off a successful course” but helping to accelerate their current course.

“I don’t think we would have gone into this if we thought it was going to radically change what we’re doing.”

I’m certainly no expert on Reuters and Thomson, but I can’t imagine that a merger of this magnitude (impacting billions of dollars and tens of thousands of people) isn’t going to change what Reuters is doing – perhaps radically.

How many of Reuters’ activities are dependent upon their culture? If merging cultures is such a high priority, there may very well be more impact than Devin is anticipating.

This is going to be interesting to watch!