42. S&P Global

Management: 

• Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO
• John L. Berisford, President, S&P Global Ratings
• Jack F. Callahan Jr., Executive Vice President, CFO
• Martina L. Cheung, Executive Managing Director, Global Risk Services, S&P Global Market Intelligence
• Mike Chinn, President, S&P Global Market Intelligence
• Courtney Geduldig, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs
• France M. Gingras, Executive Vice President, Human Resources
• David Goldenberg, Acting General Counsel & Acting Chief Legal Officer
• Imogen Joss, President, S&P Global Platts
• Alex J. Matturi, Chief Executive Officer, S&P Dow Jones Indices
• Krishna Nathan, Chief Information Officer
• Paul Sheard, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist
• Ashu Suyash, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CRISIL
 

Board of Directors:

• Marco Alverà, Snam
• Sir Winfried Bischoff, JP Morgan Securities
• Stephanie C. Hill, CSAT
• Monique F. Leroux, International Cooperative Alliance
• Maria R. Morris, MetLife
• William D. Green, Accenture
• Charles E. Haldeman, Jr., KCG Holdings
• Douglas L. Peterson, S&P Global
• Sir Michael Rake, BT Group
• Edward B. Rust, Jr., State Farm Insurance Companies
• Kurt L. Schmoke, University of Baltimore
• Richard E. Thornburgh, Credit Suisse Holdings

The story of McGraw-Hill begins during the height of the railroad age. In 1888, James H. McGraw bought the ‘American Journal of Railway Appliances’ and became acquainted with John A. Hill a while later, who had been an editor for the ‘Locomotive Engineer’ back in the day. Step by step, both established their own publishing houses for engineering magazines and the appropriate book range(s). In 1909, they merged their book divisions and following the death of John A. Hill in 1917, the remainder of the companies’ branches were combined into one company - McGraw-Hill was born. The initial public offering followed in 1929, together with the founding of economy magazine ‘Business Week’. Over the years, more and more special interest magazines about industry, traffic and healthcare were added to the line-up.

After the Second World War, McGraw-Hill extended the educational book division in particular. Besides already established series for university students, the production would include educational books for elementary and secondary schools for all subjects. In 1966, McGraw-Hill acquired rating agency Standard & Poor and thus entered the field of business information and analysis.

However, the year 1970 would go down in history as a rather embarrassing one for the company. An unknown author at the time offered McGraw-Hill a biography of the allegedly dying, eccentric and reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, which had supposedly been authorised by the man in question himself. Yet, the book turned out to be a fake. Hughes emerged from the woodwork and sued the author, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

In 1972, the company expanded into electronic media and bought TV stations in San Diego, Indianapolis and Denver (among others). A dragging business development in total and an above average performance of Standard & Poor led to an unsuccessful take-over attempt by American Express in 1979. The revenue surpassed the one billion US-Dollar mark for the first time in 1980. In 1995, the company was restructured into three business sectors: Education, Financial Services and Information & Media Services, all of which are still in existence today. In 1996, the revenue stood at more than three billion US-Dollar. After a ‘non-family’ interregnum from 1988 to 1998, a descendant of the publishing empire’s founder once again helms the company in the person of Harold McGraw III.