Margie Seale, Managing Director Random House Australia and New Zealand and President Asia Development Random House Inc., has announced her decision to step down to begin a new career as a non-executive director and business advisor.

One of the first of her new positions will be as a consultant to the Random House business. She has also been appointed as a non-executive director for the Telstra Corporation Ltd. - Australia's leading telecommunications and media  company.

Gail Rebuck, Chairman and CEO of The Random House Group, said: "On both a professional and a personal level it has been a great pleasure working with Margie. She is a consummate professional whose business acumen is equally matched by her creative impact and under her leadership our ANZ businesses have grown to be a significant and successful part of our Group. We shall all be terribly sorry to see her step down, but share her excitement about her new career path and we are delighted that an organisation such as Telstra has already seen the value we know she brings to a business. We are also pleased that we shall continue to benefit from her years of wisdom and experience as a Non Executive Director. I am sure that everyone across Random House and the wider publishing industry will join me in wishing her all the very best for the future."

Brian Davies, the Random House Group Head of Operations (UK and Overseas), said: "It has been fantastic to work alongside Margie as she has led our business in Australia from strength-to-strength. She has been the driving force behind the publishing successes we have consistently achieved for our distinguished roster of both International and Australian authors. She has also provided great support to the New Zealand management team contributing to their very successful company, and most recently applied her talents to advising the Group on our Asian strategy. In all of this she has always shown shrewd judgement in constantly changing times, and applied this to our advantage. Above all she cares about the good fortune of our authors, our business and importantly our people. I am delighted that we will continue to benefit from her sage advice as a Non Exec, and wish her tremendous success in her new career.  

Margie Seale said: 'It has been a great 12 years at Random House and a delight to work with so many talented people. This has been a difficult decision to make, but the timing now feels right and I am pleased I can continue a close association with Random House where I have worked so happily for so long. I look forward to continuing to play a part in its success as a non-executive director.'

Margie joined Random House Australia as Deputy Managing Director in 2000 with specific responsibility for the publishing division of the company.  After achieving record profitability for the division, she was promoted to Managing Director of Australia in 2001, adding responsibility for the NZ business in 2008 and for investigating Asian opportunities for Random House worldwide in 2010. Margie began her career as assistant editor at Wine and Spirit Buying Guide, before spending eight years in senior roles at Pan MacMillan in Australia and the UK, rising to National Marketing Manager. Following a year as National Sales Manager at the Australian fashion firm Oroton, Margie spent three years as CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Australia, before being appointed CEO of Landsdown Publishing/The Macquarie Library. She will remain in post until November 2012 after which she will continue to act as a Non Executive Director of the Random House ANZ businesses.