Was Martha as tough to work for as people say? Martha is a force of nature. The first time I went to meet her in prison, I’d seen our designers’ plans for a new bedding line. I said, “God, they were really beautiful, Martha.” She said, “Did you want them? If you don’t want them, they’re not good enough.” So, yeah, she can be a real taskmaster. But there’s a pursuit of excellence that’s hard to deny.

What was it like visiting her in prison? I went to see her every other week. I wasn’t allowed to ask what I should do, but I could inform her of what we were doing. We’d spend four or five hours together. We played a lot of Scrabble.

You’ve been rumored to be in line for a number of jobs, including Time Inc. C.E.O. What’s it going to be? Honestly, I don’t know. I want to spend some time traveling, reading, thinking, and listening.

Why are you leaving? I said to Martha when I came to the company that I would put a great management team in place. At a certain point, you need to step aside so they can do what they came to do.

In your prior job as head of programming at ABC, you helped launch Desperate Housewives. Which  housewife are you? Felicity Huffman. The idea of carrying a significant job and raising kids, and the chaos that ensues, certainly rang a bell.

What was your worst day at Martha Stewart? The day we met with Eddie Lampert to see if there was a new contract to be done with Kmart and realizing we were so far apart, it was hopeless. We knew the value of our brand to them, and I think he felt we had no other options and could hardball us.

Best day? The day Martha came back to the company. And the day we could say we were profitable again. That was a fun earnings call.

Is there one Martha Stewart product you can’t live with­out? The lemon zester. It’s just a miracle.

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