Reports Say Olson Leaving RH Soon  

By Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 5/5/2008 9:29:00 AM

After a report in a German magazine was published late last month that predicted that Peter Olson would leave Bertelsmann within a  few months, The New York Times today has posted a story on its site saying that Olson will leave in a matter of weeks.

The details in the Times story are similar to a rumor the circulated throughout the London Book Fair in April that Olson was planning to take early retirement. According to reports at London, Bertelsmann executives, including new chief executive Hartmut Ostrowski, had become concerned about Random House’s financial performance under Olson as well as Olson’s actions since he became sick in November. During the last six weeks of 2007, Olson had double pneumonia, and during that period he was largely unavailable to Random House executives. Olson returned to work early this year, but according to some accounts has not been very visible in the RH offices. 

Neither Bertelsmann nor Random House had any immediate comment on the Times story, and in a statement RH said Olson is maintaining a regular schedule for today and the forseeable future. A RH executive who has spoken with Olson in recent weeks said Olson has been considering pursuing opportunities outside of book publishing for a few months.

The NYT account says that it isn’t clear who a successor to Olson would be, but the rumor in London had Random House U.K. head Gail Rebuck as the favorite candidate. The Times said an announcement about a change could come shortly after a Bertelsmann board meeting in New York set in a few weeks. At LBF, the rumor was that an announcement would be made following a London meeting set for April 17, but Olson remained in his post. In April, Bertelsmann executives declined to comment on the report.

In addition to being chairman of Random House, Olson was named to oversee Bertelsmann Direct North American last fall; that group, home to the book and music clubs, was put up for sale by Bertelsmann earlier this year, although Olson is not directly involved in looking for a buyer. 

In 2007, worldwide revenue at Random fell 5.6% and earnings were off 4.9%.