CEO of B-School Publisher Resigns

In the latest dramatic personnel change at the publisher of the prestigious Harvard Business Review, Ruth R. McMullin resigned Monday as president and CEO of Harvard Business School Printing (HBSP).

McMullin's departure, which was reported in the Boston Globe yesterday, comes on the heels of multiple staff shake-ups at the publication over the past several years. Many observers say internal dissension may have played a role in the changes.

McMullin will be succeeded by Linda S. Doyle, associate dean for administration, who is currently on the HBSP board of directors.

Sources say McMullin informed the staff of her decision during a meeting Monday afternoon.

McMullin told the staff that "the seeds for success had been planted," during her two years at the review. She said the review would continue to improve under Doyle, a Business School source familiar with the situation said.

McMullin did not give a reason for her decision during the staff meeting, according to the source. But the Globe, quoting a source of its own, said the cited disagreements with William Sahlman, chair of the HBSP board.

In an in-house memo to HBSP employees, Sahlman lauded McMullin and announced Doyle as her replacement.

"Ruth has contributed significantly to the establishment of the new not-for-profit company," Sahlman wrote. "Her deep understanding of the publishing industry had helped us to build the infrastructure that will enable the publishing corporation to fulfill its mission."

McMullin, who was brought in as a consultant in 1991, was made CEO when the publishing company became an independent corporation in January 1993.

The Globe reported that McMullin had created dissent at the review which has, in turn, triggered an exodus of staff members. The Globe said McMullin's $500,000 salary and her decision to hire high-priced talent to expand HBSP's publishing operations had rankled some staff members.

Nan Stone has recently replaced Joel A. Kurtzman, who is still executive editor, as editorial executive of the review. Kurtzman had only succeeded T. George Harris last year, Harris, in turn, spent just five months at the publication.

In addition, the Globe reported that Thomas Teal, the review's senior editor, is taking a six-month leave of absence that may become permanent. Publisher Laurence Allen is contemplating leaving as well, the newspaper said.