PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul Heath has been
appointed President of Reader's Digest Asia Pacific, it was announced today
by Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Reader's
Digest Association, Inc. He will be based in Sydney, Australia, and will
report to Berner.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070801/NYW103)
Heath has served as Managing Director of Reader's Digest Australia and
New Zealand since 2001. He will continue to oversee the Australia/New
Zealand business, as well as adding responsibility for Asia and his
division's activities with Direct Holdings Worldwide, the part of RDA that
runs the Time Life business.
"Paul Heath has produced exemplary results in his current territory,
and this move will give him the opportunity to take on significantly more
responsibility. We congratulate Paul on his promotion and are confident
that he will continue his record of success in improving margins and
growing the business," Berner said.
Since coming to RDA, Heath has been responsible for transforming the
markets under him back to profitability based on a number of initiatives.
These included revitalizing the flagship Reader's Digest magazine, revising
the advertising sales strategy, expanding the product range and initiating
business process improvements. In September 2006, a new magazine,
HealthSmart, was launched and became No. 1 in the Australian health market
from its inaugural issue. In January 2007 he expanded the business into
South Africa for books, music and video products.
Previously, Heath was Vice President and Managing Director of Gateway
UK and Ireland, a major direct marketer of PCs to the consumer market. He
assumed this role after the successful turnaround of Gateway's business in
Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier, he was Marketing Director for Vodafone Australia and
introduced a number of market firsts, including launching SMS to consumers,
Pre-Paid Mobile and One-Second Billing as well as negotiating an
international sponsorship deal with the World Cup-winning Australian
Wallabies. His career includes a period in the financial services industry
with American Express as Head of Direct Sales and Alliances, also in
Sydney.
RDA also announced the appointments of Michael Brennan as President,
Reader's Digest Europe and CEO of Direct Holdings Worldwide, and Andrea
Martin, President, Reader's Digest Canada and Latin America regions. These
moves are part of a restructuring of RDA's international business to more
directly link regional divisions with global headquarters.
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global publisher and direct
marketer of books, magazines, music collections and video with customers in
more than 70 countries. The company publishes 77 magazines, including 50
local-country editions of its flagship, 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
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070801/NYW103
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org AP PhotoExpress
Network: PRN13 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
William Adler of The Reader's Digest
Association, Inc., +1-914-244-7585, or william_adler@rd.com
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