Sharon Rowlands has been named as the new president and CEO of Thomson Financial, taking over the reins from Dave Shaffer, who returns to Thomson's corporate office after a two-year stint as head of the Canadian company's financial information division.
Rowlands has served as president and chief operating officer of Thomson Financial since 2000, and has been instrumental in guiding the division through a major technology integration programme aimed at winning market share from rivals Reuters and Bloomberg.
That strategy is at least beginning to pay financial dividends for the financial information division, which in February turned in its first full year of organic revenue growth since 2000. Despite this, the company has yet to completely convince the markets and prospects that it has the firepower to deliver a credible alternative to Bloomberg or Reuters.
With the restructuring complete, Rowlands says the firm will make a strong push this year to expand in Europe and Asia, particularly China and Japan.
With a new generation of big ticket dealing room contracts slated for imminent renewal the next few years will be crucial. Rowlands will have to draw on all of her 18-years experience in the financial information industry if Thomson Financial is to succeed in its aim of making serious inroads into its rivals' strongholds.