Random House Inc.

Random House Chairman and CEO Markus Dohle sent the following letter to his colleagues regarding the departure of Edward Volini, deputy chairman and chief operating officer: September 2, 2008 TO EVERYONE AT RANDOM HOUSE NORTH AMERICA, It is with great regret that I inform you that EDWARD VOLINI has decided to step down as Deputy Chairman and Chief Operating Officer and will leave the company effective September 30. Ed has had a very distinguished career at Random House, beginning in May 1997 at Ballantine Books, where he rose to Executive Vice President, Deputy Publisher. Since 2001, he has played a crucial

The privately held Bertelsmann AG, which owns Random House, announced its corporate and divisional half-year results Thursday, reportedly earning 284 million euros (US$546.3 million) from January to June, compared to a loss of 51 million euros (US$74.9 million) a year earlier. In a letter dated August 28, Markus Dohle, who took over as chairman and CEO of Random House on June 1, addressed his colleagues regarding Random House’s performance. He reported decreased operating revenue and profits from the previous year, due in part to the weak U.S. dollar and British pound, and increased freight and paper costs. He also noted that e-book revenue in

The Web is an ever-changing animal. Keeping that in mind, the most successful online marketing executives must think in the future tense: coming up with inventive, original ideas to help publishers stay ahead of the game. Jeff Yamaguchi, associate director of online marketing for Random House Inc. division The Doubleday Publishing Group, is one such innovator, and he fills us in on a little secret—that the future tense is not enough. In June, Yamaguchi launched Doubleday’s newly revamped Web site, which uses a WordPress platform to simulate the look and usability of a blog while maintaining Doubleday’s integrity and standards as a

Hartmut Ostrowski, chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann AG, announced Tuesday that Peter Olson will step down from his position as chairman and CEO of Random House, which he has held for the past 10 years, effective May 31. Arvato Print CEO Markus Dohle will vacate his current position and assume the role of chairman and CEO of Random House as of June 1. According to Bertelsmann, Olson will leave the company “at his own initiative.” In a letter to the Random House staff, Olson said he will be relocating to Cambridge, Mass. “I am in discussions for a senior faculty position starting in the

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Random House Chief Executive Peter W. Olson will step down in the next few weeks, according to two executives at the book publisher’s parent company, Bertelsmann, who spoke on condition of anonymity. According to the report, Bertelsmann’s recently appointed chief executive, Hartmut Ostrowski, “has lost patience with the performance of the American operations and wants to install his own person … [who] would not necessarily be a prominent figure from New York publishing, and maybe not even American.” Stuart Applebaum, a spokesman for Random House, the world’s largest consumer publisher, issued the following statement: “Mr. Olson is

Green was the fashionable color on Monday evening, March 10, as more than 200 publishing industry executives gathered for a unique celebration in the Marquis Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis in New York’s Times Square, during the Publishing Business Conference & Expo. It wasn’t an early St. Patty’s Day celebration either, but a celebration honoring the recipients of the 2nd Annual SustainPrint Leadership Awards, recognizing achievements and leadership in “green” publishing. The awards—established in 2007 by SustainPrint.com (the Web site produced by book business and publishing executive magazines to cover environmental sustainability in printing and publishing)—recognize book- and magazine-publishing companies each year for outstanding

History was made at the Publishing Business Conference & Expo on Monday, March 10, as the Green Press Initiative (GPI) and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) presented findings from the first-ever environmental survey of the U.S. book industry. GPI, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, and BISG, an industry trade association, commissioned the study to help the industry understand its environmental impacts, assess areas for improvement and make recommendations for improving its ecological footprint. Michael Healy, BISG executive director, and Tyson Miller, GPI director, unveiled the 73-page “Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry” to a crowded conference room of

Random House has acquired visual arts book publisher The Monacelli Press. The terms of agreement between the two privately held companies were not disclosed. The Monacelli Press will operate as an independent imprint within Random House, under the direction of Publisher and Founder Gianfranco Monacelli. Sales and distribution of all Monacelli Press titles, currently handled by Penguin, will be assumed by Random House July 1. “Since my first days as a bookseller at Rizzoli on Fifth Ave., when I was given the task of alphabetizing the Modern Library, I have always looked at Random House and its imprints as the most exceptional in

As vice president and director of human resources of the world’s largest book publisher, Random House’s Hays Steilberg knows a thing or two about creating a great workplace. The company recently ranked No. 1 in Book Business’ “Best Book Publishing Companies to Work For” survey (Book Business, October 2007). Steilberg will speak in-depth on what makes for a great workplace when he serves as a panelist at the Publishing Business Conference & Expo (www.PublishingBusiness.com) March 10-12 in New York City. Here, he gives Book Business Extra a preview of his take on how to attract and retain top talent, and create a happier,

According to one of the better-known accounts in the compendium of humankind’s greatest achievements, it was in the year 105 that a Chinese man named Ts’ai Lun invented paper, mashing up wood from a mulberry tree with fiber from bamboo. Thus was born a technology that would literally change the world, making possible artistic, scientific and religious revolutions, democratizing literacy and learning, and ushering humanity into the modern age. In recent times, paper production has played a role in changing the world in other ways. The book industry alone required 3 million to 4 million tons of paper over just the last three years,