As McGraw-Hill gets ready to split its business and education services into two separately run companies by the end of 2011, big changes at the top are already in motion.
Today the company announced that its current president, chairman and chief executive, Terry McGraw, will take over as the new president, chairman and CEO of the McGraw-Hill Markets business. The newly formed company will include J.D. Power and Associates, the S &P index and rating businesses, as well as Platts, McGraw-Hill's information resource for energy, petrochemicals and metals.
McGraw-Hill also announced its search for a replacement CEO for the McGraw-Hill Education business. Robert Bahash, the current president will continue in his role until the new CEO has been appointed, McGraw-Hill said in its press release.
The outlooks on whether Bahash will remain at the top once all deals are finalized differ among analysts and industry experts.
"Robert Bahash would be the favorite for that job, I would think" said Steve Cohn, editor-in-chief of Media Industry Newsletter. "They said they're going to look for a CEO, but the deal won't close for a year and a half. He'll be tested between now and then, and if they like what he's doing, they might give him the job."
Others believe that Bahash stands little chance of staying beyond his interim presidency of the new stand-alone education company.
"My expectation is that they will probably hire someone from outside the educational publishing industry as Bahash's successor," said Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Peter Appert, in an email response. "Likely someone with digital experience, given the direction that business is moving, but I don't know of any specific candidates."
McGraw-Hill, which was founded by Terry McGraw's great-grandfather James McGraw in 1988, is splitting its two main businesses in an effort to appease activist investors who want to see a more focused approach to running each division. Over the past year McGraw-Hill's education business has lost profitability due to state budget cuts in education. The company has also struggled with the management and profitability of its business services.
On Aug. 22nd the company announced that S &P President Deven Sharma will step down at the year's end and will be replaced by Citibank North America chief operating officer Douglas Peterson.
Write to Damian Ghigliotty at damian.ghigliotty@dowjones.com