• by Sara Guaglione , September 9, 2016

After a three-year search, Rodale Inc. has found its first Chief Operating Officer. Beth Buehler has been tapped to lead the new role at the health and fitness publisher.

In 2013, Maria Rodale announced she was looking to bring in both a new president and COO to help run the 83-year-old family-controlled company, according to Adweek. But just a few months after the search was made public, the hunt for a new COO was put on hold. Instead, Rodale hired Scott Schulman to be president, who has since left the company.

Most recently, Buehler was SVP of digital at Rodale. She has been with the company since 2013.

Buehler will be responsible for improving business processes and operating performance metrics across the organization to drive long-term growth. She will oversee Rodale’s ecommerce platform, marketing, business operations, digital revenue and partnerships, software development and editorial production.

"Beth will work across our teams to ensure Rodale has the most nimble, scalable infrastructure to create and capitalize on revenue-generating opportunities," stated Maria Rodale.

Buehler previously worked for Dow Jones as head of business management.

She will retain her publishing duties, as well as be responsible for Rodale’s corporate sales structure, integrated, cross-brand advertising programs and corporate branding. Frerer-Schmidt has been with the company since 2011.