News Corporation today named Lex Fenwick Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones & Company.
Mr. Fenwick joins Dow Jones from Bloomberg LP, where he spent 25 years, most recently as CEO of Bloomberg Ventures. He will be based in New York and report to Chase Carey, President and COO of News Corporation. His appointment is effective February 13, 2012.
He succeeds Les Hinton, who left the Company in July.
"Lex has been a driving force in the financial news and information industry for more than two decades," commented Mr. Carey. "His aggressive and bold leadership will be invaluable to Dow Jones at a time when digital technologies are making information ever more important. We have a great opportunity to build enormous value around Dow Jones' unique expertise and franchises.
Mr. Carey added, "I want to thank Dow Jones President Todd Larsen for his leadership during this transition and look forward to continuing to work with him."
Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation Chairman and CEO, commented: "We have clearly established WSJ as the premium consumer newspaper and we are thrilled that Lex will be driving our plans to grow all our Dow Jones franchises into true innovative market leaders for today's digital world. We believe our enterprise business has the potential to follow the brand's success in the consumer space, and be the premier product in providing the kind of hard-to-find, premium content that the financial customer demands. We are committed to making it happen and we think Lex is the executive to get us there."
Mr. Fenwick commented, "I'm honored and excited to join Dow Jones at such a transformational time. The people, brands and franchises give us a wonderful opportunity to grow and develop new elements that we hope will reap rewards in the future. Over 25 years at Bloomberg I have made many friends, learned an enormous amount, witnessed wonderful success and -- above all else -- experienced incredible loyalty. I am proud of what we built together."
Mr. Fenwick joined Bloomberg in 1987, where his first assignment was helping launch the Bloomberg Professional service in the UK and Europe. He later became manager of Bloomberg operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where sales outpaced the rest of the world under his leadership. In 2000, he was named manager of global sales and the following year he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Bloomberg LP, working alongside founder Michael Bloomberg. When Mr. Bloomberg ran for Mayor in 2001, Mr. Fenwick became CEO of Bloomberg LP. During his seven years as CEO, Bloomberg not only increased its terminal base to 285,000 worldwide, but also launched many new businesses and innovations.
Mr. Fenwick founded Bloomberg Ventures in July 2008. The unit was designed to explore opportunities to enhance, expand, and diversify Bloomberg products. In 2009, Bloomberg Ventures launched Bloomberg Link to produce invitation-only, in-person gatherings that combine world-class editorial with peer-to-peer networking within influential communities.