Markus Dohle has been appointed the new head of Random House’s printing division. German media corporation, Bertelsmann, has not indicated what role Peter W. Olson will play after stepping down as CEO of Random House.
Dohle, 39, is replacing 58-year-old Olson, who has run Random house for the past decade. Bertelsmann is the world’s largest publisher of consumer titles; its imprints include Alfred A. Knopf, Doubleday Books, and the Random House Publishing Group. Recent losses at the company’s American book clubs and Bertelsmann’s weak financials centered Random House’s attention on Olson’s performance.
Random House is hoping that Dohle will provide fresh ideas to expand both the business and the brand. Dohle currently heads Bertelsmann’s Arvato print, the largest and most profitable printing operations. Arvato’s business includes repairing mobile phones, storing pharmaceuticals, and running call centers and billing systems.
Arvato earned approximately $7.8 billion in revenue, totaling about one quarter of Bertelsmann’s turnover. It is numbers like these that Random House hopes to see under Dohle’s new leadership.