HMH CEO Tony Lucki to Retire

The WSJ is reporting that Tony Lucki will retire on April 15th. In an email to staff he noted he had been involved with Harcourt or Houghton Mifflin for 30yrs and continued,

"Recent steps we have taken put the company in an even stronger position to deliver value to our customers and to build on our market leadership. We are on sound operational and financial footing and have great potential to grow our trusted brands and businesses," he said

The company has appointed 39yr old Barry O'Callahan as CEO who is the current CEO of corporate owner Education Media & Publishing Group. EMPG has approximately $7billion in debt resulting from the acquisition of both Harcourt and Houghton Mifflin. Reports earlier this year indicated that the company was attempting to sell their trade business but there was debate whether the company could achieve fair value (in their view) given the current economic environment.