NEW YORK — The CEO of Penguin Random House, the world’s biggest trade publisher, is stepping down. Markus Dohle’s choice, reliable at the end of the year, comes simply weeks after a federal judge obstructed the business’s effort to buy competitor Simon & Schuster.
“Following the antitrust choice in the U.S. versus the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, I have chose, after almost 15 years on the Executive Board of Bertelsmann and at the helm of our international publishing service, to hand over the next chapter of Penguin Random House to brand-new management,” Dohle, 54, stated a declaration launched Friday by momsanddad business Bertelsmann, the German corporation.
He hadactually been working under a 5-year agreement set to end in December2025
Dohle is likewise leaving his seat on the Bertelsmann executive board. His departure was made at “his own demand and on the finest of shared terms,” according to the Bertelsmann statement. A Bertelsmann representative stated Friday that Dohle’s unfortunate push to acquire Simon & Schuster was not seen as a “mistake” by the business and did lead to pressure for him to leave.
Dohle will be prospered, on an interim basis, by Nihar Malaviya, 48, presently president and COO of Penguin Random House.
“I’ve partnered with lotsof of you throughout works and numerous nations, and I’ve knowledgeable direct the abundance of skill that we have in our neighborhood,” Malaviya composed in a business memo shared with The Associated Press. “It is an unbelievable honor for me to lead the premier publishing business in the world, and I appearance forward to working with even more of you to develop on the energy and vibrant culture we have jointly produced.”
A native of Arnsberg, Germany, Dohle had worked in Bertelsmann’s printing and services department priorto beingsuccessful Peter Olson as Random House CEO in 2008, a time when the business’s sales were dropping. He administered over an period of enormo