Directorate Change

Reed Elsevier PLC
13 July 2004

13 July 2004



News release


Issued on behalf of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV



  Reed Elsevier announces appointment of Chief Executive Officer for Science &
                                Medical Division



Reed Elsevier Group plc today announced the appointment of Erik Engstrom as
chief executive officer of Elsevier, its global scientific and medical
publishing division.



Mr Engstrom will join the company in August 2004 and will be based in Amsterdam.
He will be a main board director of Reed Elsevier Group plc reporting to Sir
Crispin Davis, Reed Elsevier's chief executive officer.



Mr Engstrom (41), who is Swedish, has been based in the US for the past 18
years.  He joins Reed Elsevier from General Atlantic Partners, a private equity
firm, where he was a general partner leading their media and consumer investment
sector since 2001.  Prior to that, Mr Engstrom had extensive experience in the
publishing sector as president and chief operating officer of Random House Inc,
the leading global consumer books publishing business of Bertelsmann. He was
also president and chief executive officer of Bantam Doubleday Dell before its
merger with Random House.  Mr Engstrom began his business career as a consultant
with McKinsey after gaining his MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a
Fulbright Scholar.



Commenting on the announcement, Sir Crispin Davis said: 'I am delighted to
welcome Erik to Reed Elsevier.  He is an exceptionally talented executive with a
consistent track record of success, wide international experience, and extensive
publishing expertise.  He will bring strong leadership to the Elsevier 
business'.



On joining Reed Elsevier, Mr. Engstrom will be appointed to the Boards of Reed
Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier Group plc and will be put forward for election to
the Executive Board of Reed Elsevier NV at the annual general meeting of that
company in 2005.



Mr Engstrom has no details to disclose under paragraph 6.F (b) to (g) of the UK
Listing Rules.

                                     -ends-



For further information please contact:

Susanna Smart, Reed Elsevier, tel [phone]



www.reedelsevier.com




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange