Markus Dohle, the CEO of Penguin Random House, announced that Don Weisberg, the current president of Penguin Young Readers, will be leaving the company. Weisberg has accepted the position of president of Macmillan Publishers U.S.
Jen Loja, a senior vice president and associate publisher, has been appointed as Weisberg’s successor. Loja’s start date has been scheduled for Dec. 1.
Weisberg has been at the head of Penguin Young Readers since 2008; he has devoted almost three decades to a career in publishing. Loja joined the division back in 2009; she brings with her more than ten years of experience in this industry.
The major publishers Random House and Penguin have decided to join forces, creating a new entity called Penguin Random House. Random House worldwide CEO Markus Dohle will be CEO of the new group. Penguin CEO John Makinson will chair the board of directors.
Bertelsmann (the corporate parent of Random House) will control 53 percent and Pearson (the corporate parent of Penguin) will control 47 percent of the new publisher. The new entity will not include Bertelsmann’s German trade publishing business and Pearson decided to “retain rights to use the Penguin brand in education markets worldwide.” Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe had this comment in the release:
“With this planned combination, Bertelsmann and Pearson create the best course for the future of our world-renowned trade-book publishers, Random House and Penguin, by enabling them to publish even more effectively across traditional and emerging formats and distribution channels. It will build on our publishing tradition, offering an extraordinary diversity of publishing opportunities for authors, agents, booksellers, and readers, together with unequalled support and resources … Its significance for our business and for the cultural resonance of our book publishing operations worldwide is on a par with such momentous agreements as the takeover of Goldmann Verlag in 1977; the acquisition of a stake in Bantam Books, our first-ever U.S. investment, that same year; the purchase of Doubleday in 1986; and especially that of Random House in 1998. Each of these steps was aimed at increasing the breadth and quality of Bertelsmann’s publishing operations, as our new company will.”
The new company will combine all of Random House and Penguin’s business in the United States, Canada, the U.K., but it will also publishing business in Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, China, Spain and Latin American.
Follow this link to read the Pearson release, explaining how the merger “will generate synergies from shared resources such as warehousing, distribution, printing and central functions.”
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Chip Gibson has stepped aside from his position as president/publisher at Random House Children’s Books. Barbara Marcus will take Gibson’s place.
Random House Chairman/CEO Markus Dohle made the announcement in a memo sent to Random House employees this morning. He praised Gibson’s work. He wrote:
Chip has transformed the workplace culture at Children’s and impacted young readers everywhere – not just with their beloved books but also with their genuine commitment to philanthropy and community service. With Children’s enjoying a successful 2012, and well set for the future, Chip feels he has accomplished almost everything he originally set out to do professionally. Now, he wants to take an extended break from work. continued…
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