Mary Berner steps down as Reader's Digest CEO, days after new board appointed

Mary Berner

Mary Berner, who in her four years as president and CEO of Reader's Digest Association Holding Ltd. led the company into -- and out of -- Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (August 2009 - February 2010), is stepping down. According to a story from min, the industry newsletter

Successor in both roles is RDA senior VP/chief financial officer (since Nov. 2008) Tom Williams. In addition, Randall Curran, who joined the RDA Holding Co. board of directors in an April 18 restructuring, was named chairman.

Berner is a past publisher of TV Guide (1990-1995) and Glamour (1995-1999), and she was president of Fairchild Publications from 1999-2006 when it was a separate unit under Condé Nast chairman S.I. Newhouse, Jr. She assumed her RDA roles in March 2007 as the point person in the $2.6 billion purchase by Ripplewood Holdings that took the company private. The bankruptcy led to new investors.

According to a Folio: story

Last week RDA named a new board of directors, initially saying that Berner would retain her seat on the board. Randall Curran, CEO of telecommunications company DELTACOM, Inc., now takes over as chairman of the RDA board.

"With the board transition last week, this was a natural point to move on," said Berner in a statement. "I am extremely grateful to all of the employees at RDA for their hard work during my tenure at the company. I am also very proud of the management team and that together we put the company on a path to profitable growth. "