Robert Dowling, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter, will be leaving at the end of the year to open his own consulting firm after a 17-year tenure with the publication.

Dowling will start The Bob Dowling Group, to serve clients in entertainment and technology. VNU Business Media Inc., the parent company of the Reporter, has signed a three-year contract as Dowling’s first client, VNU and Dowling said in a joint statement.

During his tenure, Dowling directed a redesign of the daily publication and launched an East Coast edition as well as a Web site. Other innovations include the Reporter’s Box-Office Preview, the Power Women’s issue and breakfast and the Film and TV Music Conference.