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By DEBRA SOLOMON
BAKER
DEBORAH
COLLINS GROSSMAN,
Reuters America Operations |
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A little more
than a year ago, we could count on one hand the number of Reuters
employees based in St. Louis. However, since the acquisition of
certain assets of Bridge Information Systems, Reuters, a global
provider of news, financial information and technology solutions,
has established a major presence in our community. In fact, with
550 employees, St. Louis now has the largest operation within the
company, with the exception of London and New York.
As Senior Vice President and Senior Site Officer for Reuters America
Operations, LLC, Deborah Collins Grossman has been working to transition
the former Bridge business and to help the two communities better
understand each other. She oversees the local organization structure
and processes to ensure results are delivered effectively.
“We have made a lot of progress in the past year, and I have some
pretty ambitious goals for what can happen,” says Grossman, who
previously held financial and legal positions with McDonnell Douglas
Corporation, now The Boeing Company. “I have a team of really smart
and talented people with exceptional skills.”
The St. Louis office, which Grossman expects will continue to grow,
currently houses three key departments: the development organization,
the Customer Relationship Management Center, and the Business Service
Center, which manages the processes behind Internet applications.
Reuters, which has more than 564,000 professional users, recently
decided to consolidate the entire customer support operations for
the Americas in St. Louis. Thus, by the end of next year, all customer
support will have moved here from Long Island and Chicago. With
the recently opened Business Service Center, St. Louis joined Amsterdam,
Singapore, and London as one of four global centers. The goal of
the Business Service Centers is to provide excellent administrative
services at reduced cost.
“Reuters’ success stems from its ability to make the right decisions
and to do it with a lot of thought and a good bit of information,”
Grossman says. “And that’s exactly what we give to our customers.”
Executives from both the company’s domestic and foreign offices
are expected to continue to relocate here. So far, the transplanted
employees seem to be impressed by the Gateway City.
“People are realizing that it’s a great place to raise a family
and that we have more than our fair share of culture for our size,”
Grossman adds.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE INSIGHTS 
| WHO
WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO MEET (BOTH PRESENT AND HISTORICAL FIGURE)
AND WHY? |
“I would like to meet Pope John Paul II because in a world trying
to drown out religion, he is a beacon of hope and serenity and courage.
An author, playwright and philosopher, he not only has led and transformed
the world’s largest and oldest institution, but he also was instrumental
in the key historical event of the last century, the fall of the
Berlin Wall.
“I would also like to meet Jesus Christ, the man who split history
in two. I would like to better understand how such an unprepossessing
person could have been such an explosive force.”
BILL BICK, president, The Bick Group
 “I
turn to classical music for peacefulness. Therefore, I would love
to meet with someone like Luciano Pavarotti or Itzhak Perlman. I
would like to discuss their views on music as a form of spiritual
inspiration.
“Through years of reading many books written about the Holocaust,
I have tried to understand the existence of extraordinary evil.
I would like to meet Adolph Hitler to help me understand the power
such an evildoer can wield over millions of ordinary people.”
HAL UPBIN, chairman, president, CEO, Kellwood Company
 “I’d
like to meet Colin Powell to discuss the role the U.S. should play
internationally, and how changing the regime in Iraq would help
solve the problems there and the terrorist threats here.
“I’d also like to meet the writers of the Constitution and Declaration
of Independence, to ask them what exactly they had in mind regarding
separation of church and state, the right to bear arms, and equality.
I’d like to get their reactions on the modern application of these
principles.”
JOHN R. BECK, JR., senior vice president and marketing manager,
Emmis St. Louis
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