David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet

Notable work and positions

Thomson Reuters - Chairman
The Woodbridge Company Limited - Chairman
The Globe and Mail Inc. - Chairman
Osmington Incorporated - Founder

Biography

David Kenneth Roy Thomson is a Canadian media executive who chairs Thomson Reuters, one of the world's largest providers of news and business information. Born in Toronto in 1957, the eldest son of Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, he was educated at Upper Canada College and earned a degree in history from Selwyn College, University of Cambridge. Early in his career he worked in family-controlled businesses, including as a manager for The Bay and as president of the Zellers discount store chain. Upon his father's death in 2006, Thomson became chairman of Thomson Corporation and inherited the British title Baron Thomson of Fleet, which he does not use in Canada. Following Thomson Corporation's 2008 acquisition of Reuters Group, he became chairman of the merged Thomson Reuters. He also chairs Woodbridge, the Thomson family's investment holding company and Thomson Reuters' controlling shareholder, and The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, which the family controls through Woodbridge. Thomson founded the real estate firm Osmington Incorporated to operate independently of the family's media holdings; Osmington is a part owner of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets. He is also a noted art collector, holding the world's largest collection of works by the English painter John Constable.

Career highlights

• Chairman, Thomson Reuters Since 2008, following the Thomson Corporation's acquisition of Reuters Group.
• Chairman, The Globe and Mail Oversees Canada's national newspaper, controlled by the Thomson family through Woodbridge.
• Osmington Incorporated Founded to operate independently of the family's media empire; part owner, through True North Sports and Entertainment, of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets.