Smithsonian's businessman leaving too

Gary M. Beer, the founding chief executive of the Smithsonian's business unit and architect of a controversial deal with Showtime Networks Inc., has announced plans to leave amid internal and congressional inquiries into his management, expense account and promotions of a female subordinate.

Beer told staff in an e-mail that he will not attempt to renew his contract in September as chief executive of the seven-year-old Smithsonian Business Ventures. The unit, known internally as SBV, runs museum gift shops, restaurants, theaters and other profitmaking ventures...

The departure of Beer, who earned more than a half-million dollars in 2005, along with the resignation in March of Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small, signals a move away from the high-flying, private-sector culture installed to make the institution run in a more profitable, market-based fashion.