Rose promoted to Mills & Boon brand director

Jo Rose, marketing manager at HarperCollins, has been promoted to the newly-created role of Mills & Boon brand director in anticipation of the brand's future growth.

Rose joined the Mills & Boon marketing team in November 2015, having developed her career at Hachette, BCA and Waterstones. Praised by HarperCollins for her strong brand management skills and publishing knowledge, in her new role Rose will be responsible for the strategic development of the Mills & Boon brand.

Mills & Boon became an imprint of the publisher following the acquisition of Harlequin by HarperCollins in 2014. The UK team now has "significant plans to develop the series romance business", the company said.

Rose said: "I am thrilled to be taking on this new role in the Mills & Boon team at a hugely exciting time for the brand, which has a rich heritage and great ambition for future growth. We’ve got a fantastic team, a wonderful community of romance authors and readers, and plans to grow across all our channels."

Lisa Milton, executive publisher for Harlequin, added: "With Jo now responsible for our brand development, I am very excited about what we can achieve and how we can grow. This is a key role and absolutely pivotal to our strategy. Our plan is to continue to build our romance series fiction, to make Mills & Boon relevant and thriving in the 21st century and to be the UK home of romance."