HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman steps down after 10 years at the helm

HarperCollins president Brian Murray is taking over the duties of chief executive after Jane Friedman became the second publishing CEO to step down in recent weeks amid increasing pressure on the industry.

The publishing company owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said Friedman's resignation Wednesday was effective immediately.

Friedman's departure follows the exit last month of Peter Olson, the chief executive of Random House, and stunned colleagues who had no idea it was coming. Olson held the job since 1998 but was hampered by losses at the unit of Germany's Bertelsmann AG amid a wider slowdown in book sales.

Friedman, who had headed proceedings at the company for a decade, had been instrumental in getting many prominent authors like Paulo Coelho, Michael Crichton and Doris Lessing on the rolls. She had also been an active torchbearer for the company's entry into the digital age, spearheading such initiatives as e-books and HarperTeen.

In order to both boost book sales and effectively reach the interactive community, HarperCollins offers online books for free . The entire book is not available to view, but potential buyers are able to browse books before they purchase (much like a traditional bookstore). HarperTeen is a page on MySpace that creates an interactive community for teenaged readers.

Additionally, she aggressively expanded in developing markets like India and China where the company's profits more than doubled during her tenure.