After a 30-year career at Random House and the last 10 years heading up Random House Children’s Books, Chip Gibson has stepped down and former Harry Potter publisher Barbara Marcus will take his place effective immediately.

In a memo sent to Random House employees this morning, Random House chairman and CEO Markus Dohle stated that Gibson wished to resign because he had accomplished almost everything he had set out to do professionally and wished to take an extended break from work.

During his longstanding service at Random House, Gibson helped the company increase its revenues and profits of print and digital editions from a number of successful authors including Dr. Seuss, Mary Pope Osborne (The Magic Tree House), and Lauren Kate (Fallen).

Marcus transitions into her new position from her most current work as a consultant and adviser to international media companies including major book publishers. However, she is most well known as the former leader of Scholastic where she helped direct the acquisition all seven Harry Potter novels. She left Scholastic in 2005 after a 22-year service.

During her time building Scholastic’s trade publishing and establishing licensing and content partnerships, the company’s revenues rose from US$120 million to more than US$1.2 billion.

As Random House Children’s Books’ new president and publisher, she will be responsible for executing the company’s overall publishing direction, as well as daily and long-term business and strategic operations.