Kerry Hatch is Named President of School & Educational Services for the Reader's Digest Association, Inc.

Kerry Hatch is Named President of School & Educational Services for the Reader's Digest Association, Inc.

		Kerry Hatch, former American Express executive and currently President of QSP, Inc., was promoted to President of School & Educational Services for The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (May 28, 2008). (PRNewsFoto/The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.) PLEASANTVILLE, NY UNITED STATES

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Kerry D. Hatch has been named President of the School & Educational Services (SES) division of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., it was announced today by Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer. Hatch will report to Berner and serve on the company's Executive Committee. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080528/NYW099 ) Hatch was promoted from President of QSP, Inc., the company's schools and youth fundraising division, a position she held since Nov. 7, 2007. As President of SES, Hatch will remain President of QSP and additionally be responsible for the company's three other education-related businesses: Weekly Reader Publishing Group, Books Are Fun and CompassLearning. She succeeds Michael S. Geltzeiler, who is leaving RDA to take another position. "I couldn't be more pleased to announce Kerry's appointment," Berner said. "We were delighted when she joined the company last fall after recording a track record of success at American Express and Starwood Hotels. At QSP, she quickly assembled a strong new management team and has re-energized the business. She is the ideal person to now lead the SES division and to fully realize our plan to improve margins and leverage the complementary strengths within the portfolio." Hatch came to RDA after working for Starwood Hotels, where she was President, St. Regis and The Luxury Collection. Before that, she was President and CEO of Goodtimes Entertainment, a direct marketing and entertainment business owned by Quadrangle Group Partners. Hatch earlier served for 22 years with American Express, ultimately as President of The Small Business Network. In that role, she was responsible for a diverse $2 billion financial services business that sold credit cards, lines of credit, term loans and equipment leases to U.S. small business owners. Her other executive assignments with American Express included senior leadership positions in branding, marketing, Strategy, and Business Development. Hatch has been recognized with numerous honors including: New York Women's Agenda "Star" Award; B2B Magazines Top 10 "Marketer of the Year" Award; Women in Business "Advocate of the Year" by the US Small Business Administration in New York; and the Calvert "Corporate Citizen Award." Hatch lives in Rye, N.Y., and holds a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado and an MBA from the Columbia Graduate School of Business. SES businesses serve the school and educational markets. QSP is an educational fundraising company that has helped schools across the U.S. and Canada raise more than $3 billion over the past 41 years. Books Are Fun is the leading North America display marketer and provides services to teachers. Weekly Reader Publishing Group publishes the nation's favorite classroom magazines, which have a combined circulation of 5 million. CompassLearning is a fast-growing curriculum software company. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global publisher and direct marketer with interests including books, magazines, music collections, video and digital. The company sells products in more than 70 countries. It publishes 92 magazines, including 50 editions of its flagship, Reader's Digest, the world's most widely read magazine. Its headquarters are located near Pleasantville, New York.