A new management structure for the English-language part of Hachette Book Group, designed "to develop the longstanding collaboration between HBG and Hachette UK," has been announced by Hachette Livre.
|
|
| Michael Pietsch (photo: Kelly Campbell) |
|
Under the new structure, Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch will give up that role and become chairman. Hachette UK CEO David Shelley will continue in that position and will also be CEO of HBG. He will report to Hachette Livre's deputy CEO, Stéphanie Ferran, as well as to chairman and CEO Arnaud Lagardère.
In addition, Richard Kitson, deputy CEO of HUK, will become deputy CEO of both HBG and HUK. HBG's COO Joe Mangan is leaving the company. These changes will be effective January 1, 2024.
"Thanks to this new structure at the helm of our publishing activities in the U.S. and U.K., Hachette Livre will be ideally positioned to pursue its ambitions to be a global leader by bringing business closer together and unlocking new opportunities for growth in those strategic markets," said Lagardère. "The success that David Shelley has built at Hachette UK is both inspiring and impressive, and he is the best person to create a strong and unified English-language publishing team. I know that, thanks to Michael Pietsch, Hachette Book Group is the best home for our authors and they will continue to prosper in the care of David Shelley."
Pietsch has been CEO of Hachette Book Group for 11 years and earlier was publisher of Little, Brown and an editor. He commented: "I'm proud of everything that all of us at Hachette Book Group have accomplished in the past decade, in close partnership with our authors--thriving, growing, and reinventing ourselves through complex and challenging times. Working even more closely with our wonderful colleagues at Hachette UK, under David Shelley's excellent leadership, will make us an even stronger company, and I look forward to contributing to our future successes in every way possible in my new role."
 |
|
| David Shelley | |
Shelley, who has been CEO of Hachette UK for six years, said: "I'm incredibly honored to be given this opportunity to lead Hachette Book Group as well as Hachette UK and to work with Richard and the teams on both sides of the Atlantic to bring the two companies closer together--to help each learn from the other, and to continually reach new readers.... I'd like to pay special tribute to Michael as he has been a key figure for me over the years. As well as being a legendary editor, publisher and CEO, he is one of the most kind and thoughtful people in our industry. I am extremely pleased that he will be remaining as chairman for the coming year and I look forward to working closely with him very much."
Kitson has been working with Shelley for the past six years. He is chair of Hachette UK's subsidiary businesses, including Paperblanks and Hachette in Australia, New Zealand, India and Ireland. He also leads Hachette UK's group functions, including the HUK digital, rights and audio, legal, IT, contracts, and sales departments. Since joining the company in 2014, Mangan has been responsible for the company's publishing operations, as well as its corporate strategy. Earlier he was COO for Perseus Books Group.