UPI President Wechsler Resigns Post

United Press International said Thursday that Ray Wechsler, its president and second in command, was stepping aside but would remain as a consultant to help the news agency find a buyer or an investor.

No successor was named to replace Wechsler, nor was the reason for the management change divulged. Asked if Wechsler was stepping aside because of a clash with Chairman Luis Nogales, a UPI spokesman said: “I would not characterize this as having anything to do with personalities.”

Nogales declined to comment on speculation about a rift, saying only that “while at UPI, Mr. Wechsler did an outstanding job, which we appreciated.”

A UPI wire account of the resignation, however, reported company sources as saying that tensions have been heightened between Nogales and Wechsler in recent months as the two executives separately negotiated with potential buyers.

The 78-year-old news agency, which owes $27.7 million to its unsecured creditors, has been operating under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code since April.

Wechsler, 40, joined UPI as a management consultant in August, 1984, and became president last March.

“My goal was to put UPI back on its feet,” he said in a statement after the management change was announced. “I believed then as I believe now that UPI is a very important institution that must survive.”

While working as a consultant, Wechsler said he would continue to draw his UPI salary, variously reported to be $142,500 or $171,000 a year.

UPI has reported operating profits over the last 10 months, but it has not attempted to repay debts accumulated before last April.