Random House Chief Steps Down

The New York Times reports that Peter W. Olson, the chief executive of Random House, will leave his post in the next few weeks. According to Bertelsmann, the German media conglomerate that owns Random House, Olson's replacement "would not necessarily be a prominent figure from New York publishing, and maybe not even an American." Random House is the world’s largest consumer publisher, and Olson is the highest-ranking American in a German company.

Sales at Random House fell 5.6 percent in 2007.