Rona Fairhead, chief executive of Pearson's Financial Times Group and a member of the board of directors of the London-based media conglomerate, will step down in April, Pearson said Tuesday. It will be the company's second high-level executive departure in recent months.
Ms. Fairhead's resignation comes after Pearson's long-time chief executive, Marjorie Scardino, said in October she would leave the company after nearly 16 years in her current role. In January, John Fallon, currently the chief executive for Pearson's international education division, will take over as chief executive.
The departures of two executives who had championed the company's print publishing assets, including The Financial Times newspaper, have fueled increased speculation that Pearson will seek to sell the rose-colored business daily, known as the FT, so that it can focus on its fast-growing education business.
In October, Pearson reached an agreement with Bertelsmann, the Germa n media company, to combine its Penguin publishing house with Random House. Under the agreement, which is still subject to approval from regulators, Bertelsmann would control 53 percent of the combined Penguin-Random House division.
Among the companies that analysts have said could make a bid to acquire the FT are Thomson Reuters, which has an editorial staff of thousands, but no print publication. Bloomberg LP could also explore a purchase of the FT to help its journalism gain more exposure outside the financial terminal business. The company also owns Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine. Spokesmen for Reuters and Bloomberg declined to comment when previously asked about a potential bid for the publication.
A Pearson spokesman, Charles Goldsmith, said Ms. Fairhead's decision to leave Pearson was “completely unrelated to ownership of the FT.â€
Last week, Mr. Fallon visited the London headquarters of the FT to squelch concerns on both the business and editorial sides and assure the staff that the newspaper was not for sale.
For the past 11 years Ms. Fairhead, 50, has served in various senior roles at Pearson including chief financial officer. Since 2006 she has served as chairman and chief executive of the Financial Times Group, a unit that includes the FT, FT.com and a 50 percent stake in The Economist. In a press release, the company said Ms. Fairhead is leaving “to pursue the next phase of her career outside Pearson.â€
A replacement was not immediately named, but the company said that during a handover period, Ms. Fairhead would help prepare the incoming chief.
“She led a fundamental restructuring and refocusing of the FT Group, including its successful development of digital businesses, and leaves a strong organization with a bright future in a highly challenging industry,†Ms. Scardino said in a statement
