Hugh Andrews and John Glynn have been named to the board of directors of Andrews McMeel Universal, the parent company of Andrews McMeel Publishing and Universal Press Syndicate. Andrews has also been named to the newly created position of executive v-p of AMU and will continue in his role as v-p of sales and marketing at AMP. Glynn is an editor at UPS. A spokesperson for AMU said the board appointments of Andrews and Glynn represent "the passing of the torch" of the management of the family-run company to a second generation. Andrews is the son of AMU cofounder James Andrews, and Glynn is the son-in-law of cofounder John McMeel.

In another promotion, 30-year AMU veteran Tom Thornton has added the duties of CEO of AMP to his positions of president and chief operating officer. He replaces Kathleen Andrews, who retired as CEO at the end of 2002, although she remains vice-chairman. In addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, both Thornton and Andrews will become more involved with the strategic planning of the company.