The sudden death of Scholastic CEO, office romance and surprise
The head of Scholastic Corp., M. Richard Robinson Jr., died suddenly in June on his way to Martin's Vineyard. You have left an amazing sequence. He did not give control of the $ 1.2 billion publisher to any of his two sons, or siblings, or ex-wife, who had renewed their friendship with him during the epidemic. Instead, the control has shifted to Iole Lucchese, Scholastic's chief strategist. He also inherited everything he owned. In the 2018 will, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Robinson described Ms. Lucchese, a 30-year-old veteran of the company, "as my colleague and best friend." Lucchese and Robinson have been dating for a long time, according to interviews with family members and former employees. Lucchese's sudden emergence as Scholastic's successor has sparked a family history drama at the company's 100-year-old - one of the world's largest children's book publishers, from "Harry Potter" novels to the "Magic School Bus" series and raised questions about its future as an independent concern. Some family members are unhappy and are reviewing their legal options, said people close to the situation, with concerns running the game ranging from wanting to maintain Scholastic independence to being a mockery of an outsider with the power to manage Robinson's assets. Another possibility is to reach an agreement with Lucchese to transfer some of the voting shares to family members or to ensure that they receive a larger share of the estate, one person said. Maurice "Reece" Robinson, the youngest son of Richard Robinson, described his father's decision to control his results for Lucchese as "unexpected and shocking." "What I really want is a peaceful outcome," said the 25-year-old filmmaker. The eldest son, John Benham "Ben" Robinson, 34, said in an email that while holding his father's estate he planned to "act like salt on an open wound." He said he had never met Lucchese or heard his voice until a family phone call was held with him Wednesday to discuss Robinson's estate. Afterwards, Reece Robinson said, "We expect to have a way of dealing with the estate." He declined to comment. Richard Robinson was 84 years old when he died. He was private about arranging his estate and personal life. To the annoyance of some of his colleagues, he did not prepare for the post. His intentions for handing over the reins to Lucchese are unclear even to those close to him. Former workers say they believe the pair split a few years ago. And it is unclear who will inherit a large lump sum of ordinary shares, estimated at about $ 70 million, which belonged to Robinson. Lucchese, 54, who was elected chairman of the Scholastic board in mid-July, declined to comment. Board member Peter Warwick was appointed CEO. The company declined to comment. Until recently, the company was owned by only two people, Robinson and his father, who founded it in 1920 as a class magazine. Scholastic, a source of textbooks and building materials for generations of students and teachers, is behind popular titles such as "The Hunger Games" series, "Captain Underpants" and various "Clifford the Big Red Dog" books, in addition to "Harry Potter." For decades the students filled out monthly orders at their book clubs.