BusinessWeek president leaving magazine

Tom Lowry of BusinessWeek reports that the weekly magazine’s publisher and president, Keith Fox, is leaving in advance of its sale to Bloomberg LP, but will remain with McGraw-Hill.

Lowry writes, “Fox, 44, informed colleagues of his decision in a staff memo Friday afternoon, less than three weeks after McGraw-Hill announced it had reached an agreement to sell BusinessWeek to Bloomberg LP.

“’I am proud that I played a role in ensuring that BusinessWeek has a new home at Bloomberg, where it will thrive under the leadership of Norman Pearlstine,’ Fox told staffers (see full memo below). ‘I am committed to the transition and helping in any way that I can.’ A veteran of McGraw-Hill, Fox did not specify the new role he will play at the company. He said he will take on new responsibilities in 2010, after assisting the BusinessWeek team with the transition to Bloomberg. The sale is expected to close in early December.

“Fox’s resignation from his post follows a similar announcement from BusinessWeek editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler, who told staff on Oct. 22 that he was stepping down. ‘Keith has been an extraordinary leader in the most difficult of times. He built a stellar business team, created a culture that combined high performance with exceptional collegiality, and won the respect and affection of the entire staff,’ Adler said of Fox on Friday. ‘To me, he was the ideal collaborator and the most generous of colleagues.'”

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