Felicia Frazier, senior v-p, children's and education sales, at Penguin Random House, is leaving at the end of the year, Jaci Updike, president, sales, Penguin Random House U.S., announced in a memo to staff. Frazier joined Random House as a national accounts manager in 1994 and has held a variety of management positions there, at Penguin, and then at Penguin Random House.
Updike wrote, "Felicia has had other big ambitions that she has dreamt about for many years, always with an aim to help others and stretch her creative skills, and she has now decided to leave book publishing, to create a project of her own."
She praised Frazier, saying in part, "She is a brilliant visionary who brings enormous passion and energy to her work every day, and as a leader, she has inspired all of us to bring our very best to everything we do. While managing the largest dedicated children's sales team, she has launched countless company initiatives that support literacy, diversity, mentorship, free expression, and voting rights, both at the local and national level. She is the true embodiment of the phrase: we change the world, one book at a time."
Updike added, "On a personal note, Felicia has been a trusted adviser and friend over the years, and it's difficult to imagine doing this without her. I'm sure you can guess how much we tried to talk her into staying, but her next endeavor (which she is not ready to announce yet) is as brilliant and innovative as she is, and if she must leave us, we will just wish her the happiest of successes."