Pearson chief Scardino to step down

By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York and Robert Budden in London

Oct. 3, 2012

Dame Marjorie Scardino will step down on January 1 as chief executive of Pearson after 16 years, handing over to John Fallon, head of the group’s international education division.

Dame Marjorie, 65, was the first woman to lead a FTSE 100 company when she was appointed in January 1997, and she became one of London’s longest-serving chief executives as she turned Pearson, the owner of the Financial Times, from a broad conglomerate into a digitally-focused education and publishing business.

As chief executive of the international education division since 2008 and head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for the preceding five years, Mr Fallon has been in charge of one of Pearson’s fastest-growing businesses, and has overseen a series of acquisitions and investments to expand sales.

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