E-books hurt or helped by Random House appointment? New CEO comes from Bertelsmann printing unit
Markus Dohle, 39, the head of the Arvato Print division at Bertelsmann, will replace Peter Olson as Random House CEO. So here’s the question. Is this good for bad for e-books—and books in general?
The E pros: Perhaps Dohle has more of a tech background than most publishing exec. I don’t know. The main Arvato company is providing some digital services.
The E cons: Will Dohle’s print-oriented background, as head of avaro print, get in the way of Random’s migration to E?
Questions also arise from a general book-industry perspective. Would Random have been better off appointing someone with a more content-related background? Olson himself was notorious for his firing of Ann Godoff, the well-regarded president of the Random House Trade Group, for not meeting profit goals.
Leave a Reply