Reuters has not had a chief operating officer since Philip Green left the company in June 2003 after his role was scrapped as part of senior management restructuring at the firm.

At the time the group said the operational management of the business would be brought under the direct control of the group management committee, chaired by chief executive Tom Glocer.

Wenig is currently president of the group's business divisions, with operational responsibility for four units - sales and trading, research and asset management, enterprise and media. His elevation to the COO role would appear to confirm speculation at the firm that Wenig is being groomed as a future CEO and eventual successor to Tom Glocer.

In a statement, Glocer says Wenig's new appointment is "a natural evolution of his current role and helps deliver my long-term objective to have the divisions as the primary operating dimension of Reuters".

Wenig joined the group in 1993 as corporate counsel, Reuters America, and has held a number of senior management positions over the past 13 years. He was appointed to the board as an executive director in 2003.