In a memo to employees, Random House Chairman and CEO Markus Dohle announced that the company would be "splitting off the current Crown Publishing Group into separately structured and distinct groups: one comprised of the Crown trade-publishing imprints; the other with the Random House Audio Group and the Random House Information Group."
Dohle also announced (and issues separate memos outlining) that Jenny Frost, president and publisher of the Crown Publishing Group, is leaving Random House Inc., effective immediately, and that Maya Mavjee has been appointed president and publisher of the newly restructured Crown Publishing Group effective Jan. 1, 2010. Mavjee will report directly to Dohle. According to the memo, she will "relocate to New York from Toronto, where she is presently Executive Publisher, DouPublishing Group, and Executive Vice President, Random House of Canada Limited."
Here is the memo from Markus Dohle regarding Crown's restructuring in its entirety:
December 8, 2009
TO EVERYONE AT RANDOM HOUSE NORTH AMERICA
Today we are announcing an organizational change for the Crown Publishing Group, which has been our largest and most diverse publishing division.
Since 2002, the Crown Publishing Group has consisted of its hardcover and trade paperback fiction and nonfiction general interest, business, cookbook, lifestyle and craft imprints; the Random House Information Group; and the Random House Audio Publishing Group, all unified under one leader. In recent years it has added imprints to its portfolio through organic growth (Crown Forum); acquisition (Watson-Guptill
Publications, Ten Speed Press); last year's restructuring (Broadway, Broadway Business, Doubleday Business, Doubleday Religion, WaterBrook Multnomah); and strategic partnership (Sylvan Learning Center product line). The division has evolved as an aggregation of publishing programs with different business models and each with its own set of publishing priorities and strategic challenges.
After an extensive review, we believe that both our overall publishing interests and those of our respective imprints, authors, and our colleagues, will now be best served by splitting off the current Crown Publishing Group into separately structured and distinct groups: one comprised of the Crown trade-publishing imprints; the other with the Random House Audio Group and the Random House Information Group.
The newly structured Crown Publishing Group continues as one of our autonomous Adult Publishing divisions, now entirely focusing on its core strengths: general interest fiction and nonfiction, business, religion, political thought, cooking, and lifestyle. Its imprints are Broadway Books, Broadway Business, Clarkson Potter, Crown Publishers, Crown Business, Crown Forum, Doubleday Business, Doubleday Religion, Harmony Books, the Monacelli Press, Potter Craft, Potter Style, Shaye Areheart Books, Ten Speed Press, Three Rivers Press, Watson-Guptill Publications, and WaterBrook Multnomah.
I am appointing MAYA MAVJEE, Executive Publisher, Doubleday Canada Publishing Group, and Executive Vice President, Random House of Canada Ltd., as President and Publisher of the Crown Publishing Group to take effect January 1, 2010. Her mandate is to lead its imprints to realize their greatest fiction and nonfiction publishing potential. You will read more about her skill set and the experience she is bringing to accomplishthis in her accompanying announcement memo.
Simultaneously, we will separately run the highly successful Random House Audio Publishing Group and Books on Tape and the Random House Information Group: Fodor's Travel Group; Large Print; Living Language; Prima Games; The Princeton Review; Random House Reference; and Sylvan Learning. Separating these businesses from the traditional print publishing businesses will allow us to focus on the unique opportunities these formats provide. For the interim, Audio's Amanda D'Acierno will report to me, as will the Information Group’s Tim Jarrell, Debra Kempker, and Tom Russell. In the coming weeks we will provide you with additional details about reporting responsibilities.
In a separate memo about her exceptional legacies to the company, I also announce that with the Crown Group's reorganization Jenny Frost is leaving Random House, Inc., stepping down as President and Publisher of the Crown Publishing Group.
I thank you for your support of our colleagues affected by this news. We all will try to make the transition as smooth and as efficient as possible. I know this repositioning of the Crown Publishing Group is a better alignment of our wide-ranging publishing strengths, which will bring us to higher and greater levels of achievement and success.