Jim Berrien is stepping down from running day-to-day operations as president and publisher of Forbes Magazine Group, after nine years at the helm, the company announced today. Instead, he will now be the the chairman of Forbes magazine, starting January next year. The publisher was responsible for the launch last month of luxe titles ForbesLife Executive Woman and ForbesLife Mountain Time, reports Mediaweek.

There has been some speculation over the last year that Berrien may have had some disagreements with Elevation Partners, the media PE firm that owns 40 percent of Forbes, the company, though the company has denied that. As to a replacement, the Forbes family “will be considering a variety of scenarios,” said a Forbes spokeswoman, told Mediaweek.

Berrien’s memo, posted on SAI, has this interesting bit: “As many of you know, the media business has seen a lot of change over the last few years--not all of it good. What I love most, high-level selling of ideas and deal-making, has been challenged by an ever-growing influence of media agencies doing their best to commoditize the extraordinary products and services under the Forbes brand.” Hints of pork-bellies argument…