LOS ANGELES — Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PEI) today announced that long-time executive Richard Rosenzweig will be moving to a consulting arrangement with the company effective Sept. 30.
Rosenzweig, who joined Playboy in 1958, currently serves as executive vice president of PEI and a member of the company's board of directors as well as chairman of Alta Loma Productions, Playboy's mainstream production company.
Playboy founder and editor-in-chief Hugh M. Hefner said, "Dick's decision is bittersweet for all of us at Playboy and for me in particular. Dick has worked with me since the early days of the magazine in Chicago, and since that time he has been my trusted advisor and business partner. I understand and applaud Dick's desire to devote more energy to his many philanthropic and civic interests as well as to spend more time with his wife Judy Henning, and I am pleased that he has agreed to continue providing insight and strategic counsel to me and the company on a part-time basis."
Under the terms of the agreement, Rosenzweig, 76, will work as a senior advisor to the company and to Hefner and PEI CEO Scott Flanders.
Rosenzweig will retain an office at the Playboy Mansion. He also will remain a member of the company's board of directors, non-executive chair of the Playboy Jazz Festival and Alta Loma Entertainment and an executive producer of NBC's new series "The Playboy Club," which premiered September 19.
Flanders said, "When I joined Playboy two years ago, I quickly came to appreciate Dick's unique position in the company and the perception and understanding he brought to every issue. Dick was critically important in the successful completion of the going-private transaction in March of this year. He has served the company well, both as an effective manager and a loyal employee and will continue to have a major effect on the company's future in his new role."
Rosenzweig held a variety of positions at Playboy including a stint in 1963 as as executive assistant to Hefner. He was also senior vice president and director of marketing and executive vice president of the Publishing Group, the company's largest division where reorganized the magazine and launched new publications as well as numerous international editions.
In 1977 he was given responsibility for all West Coast operations. He was elected to his current post in 1982.
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