Randy Charles

Summary

I am actively seeking a few additional Board of Director roles with public or private companies. As President of Elsevier Business Intelligence, I led a turnaround of the declining pharmaceutical & medical device information business and sold it to a strategic buyer. As Managing Director of the medical book and e-product publishing division at Elsevier, my challenge was declining print products & changing customer needs. I refocused content development on electronic products (Ebook) & launched a major change management program to reorient staff from print to electronic. We reduced the labor cost base to fund a $30 million investment in new electronic products, & launched a major customer insight effort. Results included the launch of a successful new e-product & more sustainable economics. As CMO at Elsevier Health Sciences, I inherited a product-focused marketing team. I brought in new talent & enhanced the skills of the staff by defining competencies & providing training and replaced high-cost direct mail with more efficient electronic marketing (email, SEO, SEM). Results included a strategic marketing organization with lower costs & higher return. At Rodale, we faced an aging customer base. We shifted direct response message & channels to attracted younger book customers & conducted extensive consumer research on our magazines to reposition editorial. Results included 27% in new customers and beating profit targets by 24%. As President of the Marine Group of magazine, I inherited a business with low profitability & growth. I acquired a third magazine and rationalized operations (one sales & marketing team, three editors); & developed a new strategy for advertising sales. Results included beating our operating profit target by 65% & winning 50 new advertisers. Specialties: Change management & turnaround Outstanding analytical problems solving Broad experience: publishing industry, health care, marine Harvard MBA & former McKinsey & Co. consultant