Pearson Reorganizes their Business Operations: Will Ethridge to Leave

Pearson announced a significant change in the way their business is organized and perhaps the most interesting aspect of this reorganization is that the FT Group will be subsumed into their new "Professional"
business unit together with English Language learning and their electronic testing business.  The conclusion could be this is a catch-all for units the new executive management no longer has confidence in.  That speculation could be counter minded given the level of acquisitions and investment the company has recently made in language learning and testing.  Time will tell but it is hard to understand the inclusion of the FT in that collection.

As the following press release notes the changes will be implemented in 2014 so much can change between then and now.

From their press release:

Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, is today announcing a new organization structure and the appointment of a new leadership team. The changes are designed to accelerate Pearson’s push into digital learning, education services and emerging markets, which the company views as significant growth opportunities.

Under the new structure, Pearson will organize around three global lines of business – School, Higher Education and Professional – and three geographic market categories – North America, Growth and Core.

The leaders of these businesses will be:

• School - Doug Kubach
• Higher Education - Tim Bozik
• Professional - John Ridding
• North America - Don Kilburn
• Growth markets - Tamara Minick-Scokalo
• Core markets - Rod Bristow

Global lines of business will have primary responsibility for strategy and product development, while geographies have primary responsibility for customer relationships, sales, marketing and product delivery.

In addition, Genevieve Shore, currently Pearson chief information officer, will take on a new role as chief product and marketing officer.
The changes will take effect on 1 January 2014 and, to provide investors with greater insight into business trends and performance, Pearson intends to report its sales and profits by both lines of business and geography from 2014.
As a result of the new organization structure, Will Ethridge (currently chief executive of Pearson North America) will step down from his role and from the Pearson plc Board on 31 December 2013. He will continue to work for Pearson in an advisory capacity.
Glen Moreno, chairman, said: “North American Education has been a powerhouse for Pearson for many years and Will has been at the heart of its success. He has developed a strong team of executives and ensured they are ready to take on these new responsibilities. We thank him for his significant contribution to Pearson as a leader and board director.”