Ken Oxenreider, v-p, audio sales, at Simon & Schuster, is retiring on June 30. He joined S&S in 1976 as a mass market sales rep for Pocket Books. He has sold audiobooks in one form or another since S&S's audio division published its first title in 1985. For the last 20 years has been devoted exclusively to audiobooks and Pimsleur language programs.
In a memo to staff, Christopher Lynch, president and publisher of S&S Audio, commented in part: "On a personal level, Ken's strategic thinking and his desire to push the envelope in pursuit of new revenue have been invaluable to me as has his wise counsel and good humor. Rare was the meeting with Ken without laughter, often brought on by his amazing gift for acronyms that created a unique KO language that only people within the Audio group could truly appreciate. We will miss him for all of these reasons and for the simple fact that he took as much joy in his work as anyone I've ever known.
"As Ken answers the call of the 3G's (Grandchildren, Golf and Gallivanting), please join me in thanking and congratulating Ken on an outstanding, one-of-a-kind, Simon & Schuster career."
