Economist CEO resigns, to be replaced by publisher

The Economist Group CEO Helen Alexander will resign at the company’s annual meeting on July 15 and be replaced by Economist publisher Andrew Rashbass, according to a release.

Alexander had been with the magazine since 1985, when she was a marketing manager. She become CEO in 1997. In the past five years, the company’s operating profit has increased 75 percent, and circulation has increased by nearly 50 percent to 1.3 million.

Rashbass has been publisher for the past three years. Before that, he was managing director of Economist.com. He joined the company in 1997.

“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and privileged to have led such a winning team,” said Alexander in a statement. “Now is the time for a new chief executive to take over. The temptation would be to stay too long, but it’s the right time fgor me to move on.”