Random House Boss Will Resign
Books
By Staff Reporter of the Sun | May 6, 2008
The chief executive of Random House, Peter Olson, will resign in the next few weeks, the New York Times reported Monday. The departure would leave open the top job at the world's largest consumer book publisher.
Mr. Olson has led the company since 1998, when German conglomerate Bertelsmann purchased Random House and installed him as its chief executive. Mr. Olson has in recent months lost the confidence of the Bertselsmann CEO, Hartmut Ostrowski, the Times reported, after the publisher reported declining profits and significant losses in American book clubs.
Bertelsmann's board is scheduled to meet in New York in two weeks, and an announcement is expected to follow shortly thereafter. Mr. Olson's successor has yet to be named.
