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Friedman Named President And CEO Of HarperCollins
Jim Milliot -- 11/3/97
HarperCollins has moved quickly to find a successor to Anthea Disney, tapping Random House's Jane Friedman as the publishing company's new president and CEO. Friedman, who will begin her new job on November 10, will report to Disney who was named chairman of News America Publishing in September. In her new position, Friedman will be responsible for HC's worldwide publishing operations. While her focus will be on the U.S. market, she will also oversee HC's divisions in Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
Friedman, who joined Random in 1968 in the publicity department, most recently held a number of different titles at the company: executive v-p of the Knopf Publishing Group; publisher of Vintage Books; president of Random House Audio; and executive v-p of Random House Inc. She was also a member of the Random executive committee. At Random, Friedman earned a reputation as an effective manager with a deep appreciation for books. Disney called Friedman "the ideal candidate to lead HarperCollins," noting that she "has been involved with virtually every aspect of publishing, both on the creative and business development sides." Among the authors Friedman has worked with are Julia Child, Anne Rice, Tom Peters, Michael Crichton and John le Carre.

Friedman told PW she views the top spot at HC as "the opportunity of a lifetime. I'm looking forward to new challenges and the future." Friedman said her first order of business will be to better familiarize herself with the people at HC as well as the strengths of the company. She said she will not make a decision about hiring a publisher for the adult trade group, a position that Disney held until her promotion, until she gets to know HC better. Friedman noted that HC has been known as a writer's house, and that she expects to continue that tradition. Friedman also told PW she is in complete agreement with Disney's mandate for HC to concentrate on core areas. "I've been in focused publishing all my life," she observed.

Friedman said that with the restructuring of HC completed, "now is a great time to step in. We'll be able to concentrate on acquiring wonderful books," adding that "I also believe in running a profitable company." Commenting on her former employer, Friedman called Random House a "wonderful company. I have nothing but positive things to say about Random and the people there."Random House has no immediate plans to replace Friedman. Knopf Publishing Group president Sonny Mehta said that "Jane leaves behind a team of talented people who will now have a chance to step up." Among the team leaders are Pat Johnson at Knopf, Anne Messitte at Vintage, Mike Morrison at Random Audio and Janice Goldklang at Pantheon.
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