Michael Naumann, president and CEO of Henry Holt, surprised the publishing industry July 17 with his announcement that he is resigning from the company and moving back to Germany, where he is in line to receive a high-level government appointment. Naumann will become Minister of Culture, a new position, if the German Social Democrats win the country's September 27 election, as the party is favored to do.
Naumann has been with Holtzbrinck for more than 13 years, and has headed Holt since April 1996. He is expected to remain at Holt through September. John Sargent, president of Holtzbrinck's U.S. trade group, told PW he hopes to have selected a new Holt president by the time Naumann departs.