Telerate Reorganization Focuses On Product Development

A sweeping reorganization of Telerate Inc.'s top management places increased emphasis on product development and business planning and puts John Jessop in the driver's seat for both groups. Jessop, who is credited with instituting Telerate's regional restructuring of operations, has turned his attention to restructuring Telerate's corporate staff.

Reporting relationships of the top management triad remain unchanged: John Jessop and Steven Rappaport, executive vice presidents, report to John Terranova, chief operating officer. Terranova reports in turn to Neil Hirsch, president. Under the reorganization, Jessop comes away with broad responsibilities for transaction products, product development and strategic planning. The regions -- the Americas, Europe/Gulf, and Asia/Pacific -- will continue to report to Jessop.

International marketing, which had been managed single-handedly by senior vice president Scott Rumbold, has been split into two new groups, the business group and the product group. Rumbold may have been overextended. "To ask him to plot the company's strategy going out three to five years and also to take care of all the day-to-day necessities in the product development cycle was just too much," says Jessop.

The newly formed business group, under Rumbold, will concentrate on strategic business and product planning. Gerry Mintz, who had been vice president Americas group marketing will become vice president business group and Rumbold's deputy. The product group, under an unnamed new hire, will be responsible for product design, development and marketing coordination. Both the business group and the product group will report to Jessop.

Apparently, top management wasn't satisfied with the pace of new product development, which, under vice president Dennis Warner, had reported to Rumbold. Under the newly formed product group, "the product development cycle will get the sort of focus it deserves so that we get products out of the door faster than we have been," says Jessop.

Under the new management framework, Warner will be vice president and deputy manager transaction services under David Barnes who, as vice president and manager transaction services, heads up the new transaction services group. Roy McInnis, former assistant vice president product marketing has been named assistant vice president transactional products reporting to Warner. The transaction services group has responsibility for the Telerate Trading Service and Intex, and also reports to Jessop.

Rick Snape, who has been serving as deputy managing director for the Europe/Gulf region, will return to New York as vice president Americas group under Henry Becher, who remains as senior vice president Americas group. Snape will concentrate on marketing and sales.