Random House confirmed that Peter Olson is indeed leaving the company (see this article for the earlier rumors), and that Markus Dohle will succeed him as chairman of the company’s worldwide operations. The passing of the torch will take place on 31 May. The announcement was made in a letter released to the staff this morning, signed by Bertelsmann Chairman Hartmut Ostrowski.
After the announcement, in a brief Publishers Weekly interview, Ostrowski tried to allay fears that the personnel change may signal a shift in business priorities. “Random House is and will continue to be a core business,” he said. “Peter made Random House a prosperous publishing house.” In the interview, Ostrowski said Dohle—who is currently the head of Bertlesmann’s Arvato Print—will continue to respect the autonomy of Random Hosue’s publishers, while opening up “new business prospects and opportunities for Random House. He will bring his innovative energy to tapping new lines of business for the company, such as the digital realm, and to lengthening its value chain,” in other words, taking advantage of new marketing channels and finding new ways to get books to customers.
Ostrowkski does not expect overnight changes to the company, saying that Dohle “should take his time to come up with a program.” He also said Dohle has not been told to make the company smaller.
In his farewell letter, Olson said his time at Random House has “been the best and happiest of my life,” but that it was time to pursue another dream: a life in academia. He plans to move to Cambridge, and expects to get a senior faculty position at a nearby university.