PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomas D. Gardner,
President of RD International and Direct Holdings Worldwide, plans to
resign effective the end of this month to pursue other opportunities, it
was announced today by Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer
of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
Gardner's direct reports will now report to Berner until the company
announces long-term plans for reassigning his responsibilities.
Gardner, 49, has also served as the company's Executive Vice President
since January 2006, and he continued in that corporate role after RDA was
acquired in March 2007 by a group of investors led by Ripplewood Holdings,
LLC.
"At the time of the transaction, Tom offered to stay on at RDA for a
period of time to assist me in the transition and provide continuity of
leadership in senior management," Berner said. "I am extremely grateful for
Tom's support, and now he has decided that this is the right time for him
to move on."
Gardner was named President, RD International in 2003 and has overseen
a turnaround which resulted in a significant improvement in operating
profit and an ambitious geographic expansion into 10 new countries. Before
that he was President of North America BHE from 2001 to 2003 and led the
turnaround of US BHE in the aftermath of business challenges from
restrictions on sweepstakes promotions, 9/11 and the anthrax scare. In 2006
he took on responsibility for Books Are Fun and QSP and hired new
presidents to run each division. He joined RDA from McKinsey & Co. in 1992
as Director of Corporate Planning, moved through a series of marketing
positions in US BHE, and served as head of corporate New Business
Development from 1998 to 2001.
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global publisher and direct
marketer of books, magazines, music collections and videos to customers in
more than 70 countries. The company publishes 77 magazines, including 50
local-country editions of Reader's Digest, the world's most widely read
magazine. RDA's headquarters are located near Pleasantville, New York. The
corporate website is http://www.rda.com.
SOURCE The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.rda.com
CONTACT:
William Adler of The Reader's Digest
Association, Inc., +1-914-244-7585, william.adler@rd.com
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