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Maria Curman is to leave her post as chief executive of Swedish publisher Bonnier Books at the end of 2011 after 10 years.
Curman has been the architect of Bonnier's international expansion including its significant push into the UK market. She will be succeeded by two executives; Hartmut Jedicke, chief executive of Bonnier's German publishing business, will become the new board chair for Bonnier Publishing in the UK, which includes its French and Australia subsidiaries. Jacob Dalborg, chief executive of Bonnier's publishing house in Sweden, will take on responsibilities for Bonnier’s Finnish and Norwegian publishing operations. Dalborg and Jedicke will report directly to Jonas Bonnier, chief executive of Bonnier Group.
Curman will continue to sit on the main board of Bonnier. She said: "I've had a fantastic time at Bonnier, where I've had the opportunity to develop Bonnier's book operations in both domestic and international markets."
The Swedish trade paper Svensk Bokhandel described Curman as the "architect of the Bonnier's major international publishing success". It reported that rumours that she would step down and resign as head of Bonnier's international publishing empire at the end of the year had been circulating for some time.
Bonnier Books has grown significantly during Curman reign. When she took office in 2002 the company had sales around 4bn SEK (£400m). In 2010 it reported sales of 6.25bn SEK (£600m). It has advanced in Germany, Finland and Norway, and has upped its investment in the UK, where it now consists of Autumn Publishing, Templar Publishing, and most recently Hot Key Books. In September the company named Richard Johnson as c.e.o. of Bonnier Publishing and in August it recruited Bloomsbury's Sarah Odedina to create and head up the new list - Hot Key Books.