Mr. Smith Goes to New York

From a Kentucky farm to the heart of Times Square, Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith has made the climb to the top of the business world.

Marshall Magazine, Autumn 2013

From his corner office high atop the skyscraper located at 3 Times Square, Jim Smith has a stunning view of New York City. It seems only fitting that the CEO of Thomson Reuters, a multinational corporation with $12.8 billion in revenue last year, finds himself in the middle of the bright lights and bustling streets of Times Square. After all, Smith heads a firm with 60,000 employees in 140 countries that provides critical news, information and technology to leading decision makers around the world. What better place to oversee it all than the locale commonly known as the “Crossroads of the World.”

Thomson Reuters is the result of two giant media companies joining forces. The Thomson Corporation, known primarily for the 190 newspapers it once owned throughout North America, also specialized in financial services, health care sectors, law, science and technology research, higher education textbooks and tax and accounting services. In 2008, the company acquired the British-based Reuters Group, best known for the Reuters news agency. However, the bulk of Reuters’ revenue came from providing financial market data to the world. The merger of the two companies forged one powerful multinational entity. Smith’s climb to the top of the business world is anything but typical. Raised on a farm in Carlisle, Ky., he grew up knowing the meaning of hard work.

“If I ever think about a tough day at work, I always remind myself that it beats baling hay,” he says. “That’s real, back-breaking work.”

A standout football player in high school, he was recruited to play center for the Thundering Herd in 1978 under Coach Frank Elwood. But a series of knee injuries cut his career short following his sophomore year. He remained with the team as a student assistant under new Coach Sonny Randle. The lessons he learned on the football field would ultimately define his management style.

“Football taught me all about teamwork and leadership. I believe that the role of a good manager is the same as that of a good coach – you must orchestrate the team so you get the optimal performance and you must get the right people in the right roles.”

It was on the practice field that Smith formed a friendship with current MU Athletic Director Mike Hamrick. The two have remained close for the last 32 years. 

“Mike was one of the hardest working players I have ever seen,” Smith recalls. “Sonny Randle loved him because of his drive and work ethic. I’m so proud of him and how his career has progressed. And it’s great to have him back at Marshall.” 

Smith’s time at Marshall yielded far more than valuable lessons and relationships on the field. He also embraced the academic and social experience.

“For me, going to Huntington was like going to the Land of Oz. I met people from all walks of life. The great thing about Marshall was that it was big enough to offer everything, but small enough that you could interact with your professors. The thing I liked most about being a college student was discovering that I love learning. Marshall literally opened up the world to me.”

Some of his favorite teachers included Dr. Warren Wooden in English, Dr. Donna Spindel in History and Dr. Simon Perry in Political Science.

“And everybody loved Dan Babb in Chemistry,” he adds. “He was a larger-than-life character.”

Although he was recruited to Marshall as an athlete, he ultimately found even greater success as a student. He participated in the university’s honors program and graduated magna cum laude in 1981 with a B.A. in English.

After graduating he returned home to work as an editor at The Carlisle Mercury, a weekly newspaper with a circulation of about 2,500.

“The entire press run fit into the back of a Pinto station wagon,” Smith says with a smile. “I know because part of my job was delivering the papers.”

Eventually he went to work at the Charleston Daily Mail as a copy desk editor and later was named managing editor. It was here that his career path took a dramatic turn. In 1987, Thomson Newspapers bought the Charleston Daily Mail and two years later the company asked Smith to take on bigger responsibilities. He began traveling throughout North America reorganizing and redesigning some of the company’s 190 newspapers. He was so successful that they asked him to support his colleagues in England where he pulled double duty by both restructuring older papers and launching new publications. Over time his move within the company from the editorial side to the business side just seemed to happen.

“When I was working on restructuring some of our papers, the company brought in a new CEO and a completely different team of business people at the top,” Smith explains. “They came from the professional publishing side and knew next to nothing about newspapers. I quickly learned that I knew even less about business. It was a marriage made in heaven. I got a chance to work alongside some very bright business minds. “I was just lucky to be at the right place at the right time.”

During this period Smith took charge of the Thomson Newspapers operations in North America. Under his watch the company achieved the highest rate of revenue growth in its industry and the second highest profit margins behind only Gannett.

“It’s not that journalism became less interesting to me. Business was equally interesting with a different set of challenges,” Smith explains. “The qualities that make a good journalist are the same qualities that make a good manager – it’s a sense of curiosity. I call it a graduate student’s sense of wonder about the world. You want to learn how things work.”

Smith’s ascent of the company ladder continued over the years which meant travel, and lots of it.

“I lived on airplanes for 15 years,” he says.

When he was on the ground he could be found in homes or offices in Chicago, Toronto, London and Connecticut. Smith said the constant travel then – and now – is consuming. As such, there’s not a lot of time for hobbies like golf these days, and his game shows it. But he and his wife Pam have tried to “embrace the pace,” as he puts it.

“This is a point in time when I have an opportunity to do things I never dreamed of. I also have tens of thousands of families counting on me to work hard and do the right thing. There will be time for golf later.”

He said he also looks forward to the day when he can spend more time with his four sons.

On his way up the ladder, the hard work paid off with a series of operating and staff roles as varied as running the company’s $1 billion-plus college textbook business to serving as global head of Human Resources, before ultimately being named Chief Operating Officer of The Thomson Corporation. And in 2012, just four years after Thomson’s acquisition of Reuters, he was named chief executive officer.

So how does a kid raised on a farm in Carlisle, Ky., (population 2,010) make it to the top of one of the biggest companies in the world?

“Damned if I know,” Smith says wryly. “You know, I never set out to be the CEO of a corporation. I just wanted to do a good job at the task at hand. Looking back, I’ve been very lucky.

During his tenure at the company Smith has witnessed a tremendous shift in the way information is gathered and delivered.

“A business that used to own hundreds of newspapers from the Charleston Daily Mail to the Times of London now distributes intelligent information and software almost entirely via electronic networks. We provide real-time stock quotes from 250 exchanges around the world. We are the go-to source for information in such fields as law, accounting and scientific research. And we deliver news in 19 languages viewed by over 1 billion people every day. The world is changing and we’re changing with it.

“I like to say that we are re-engineering the intersection of information and technology. We are the toolmakers of the Information Age.”

“Jim’s story is incredibly motivational not just for alumni, but also for our current students,” noted President Stephen Kopp. “He took what he learned at Marshall, both in and outside the classroom, and applied it to his own life and career as he climbed the ladder of success in business. He grew up in a small town and then came to Marshall where he developed his talents and made the most of every opportunity before him, he is a remarkable alumnus who is always proud to say he’s a son of Marshall wherever he travels across the globe.”

Last spring, Smith was invited back to Marshall to give the commencement address and to receive an honorary doctoral degree in humane letters. He described his return to the Huntington campus as one of the most humbling and gratifying experiences of his life.

During his address, Smith recalled the ways in which the college experience affected his life.

“Marshall is a special place. I absolutely loved the classroom environment. Sitting in class was life changing for me.”

Smith offered the graduating class of 2013 something he called his four pearls of wisdom.

“One, embrace change and be fearless. You must be continually learning and adapting. The only constant in the world today is change. My biggest regrets are playing it safe. You will never do great things until you free yourself from a fear of failure.

“Two, follow your passion. Find something you love to do and go like hell after it. Nothing on earth is more rewarding than working hard at a job you love.

“Three, values matter. Over the long arc of a career I can assure you that honesty and integrity will take you the furthest in your endeavors.

“Four, be resilient. Success comes from persistence and character. Character is tested most and serves us best in tough times. This university and this town know all about that.”

And then Smith, one of the most accomplished graduates in Marshall’s 176-year history, offered the most heartfelt and moving portion of his address.

“The university recently turned on the memorial fountain. You will hear the sound made by those 75 streams of water for the rest of your lives. Yes, they will remind you of historic tragedy, but even more they will remind you of the character and resilience of a community that refused to let its final chapter be written on a hillside in Wayne County. Instead, Marshall rose from the ashes to become a world-class institution. The world is changing at an unprecedented pace and for the bold that means unprecedented opportunity. The only thing holding us back is the scope of our vision, our imagination and the courage to dream big dreams.”