Philip Hoffman to become PRH chairman

Philip Hoffman, former chief corporate finance and strategic development officer at Pearson PLC, has been named chairman of Penguin Random House, succeeding John Makinson.

Hoffman (pictured) will become chairman on 1st January 2017, the company’s board of directors announced today (15th November). He succeeds John Makinson, who retires after 15 years with Penguin and Penguin Random House, with the past three and a half years been spent as the company’s chairman.

Hoffman has served on the Penguin Random House board of directors since the inception of PRH in 2013 and has also served as chairman of the audit committee since then. Until his retirement earlier this year, he held leadership positions for Penguin and Pearson for the past 27 years. He was chairman and c.e.o. of the Learning Network, president of Pearson Inc, chief financial and chief administrative officer of the Penguin Group and chief financial officer of Pearson Inc. He has been a member of the Pearson PLC executive committee since 2003. 

Hoffman also currently serves on the board of directors of the GED Testing Service, and has held board positions at The Economist Group, MarketWatch, and Interactive Data Corporation.

Thomas Rabe, chairman and c.e.o. of Bertelsmann - which company owns a 53% stake in Penguin Random House - welcomed Hoffman to the role and thanked Makinson (pictured right) for his "outstanding contribution", including the "smooth integration" of PRH.

“I congratulate Philip Hoffman on his appointment as the new chairman of Penguin Random House," Rabe said. "From the beginning, he has closely supported Penguin Random House’s development as an equally expert and responsible advisor. I look forward to working even more intensively with him in the future. At the same time, I would like to sincerely thank John Makinson for his outstanding contribution to the Penguin Random House success story over the past few years. The smooth integration of the two companies, the ongoing development of Penguin Random House, and many of the company’s successes would have been inconceivable without him.” 

John Fallon, c.e.o. of Pearson, which has a 47% stake in PRH, said: “Philip Hoffman has played a leading role in developing both Pearson and Penguin’s businesses over the past two decades.  As chairman, his strategic insights, commercial expertise, and industry knowledge will serve Penguin Random House extremely well.

“John Makinson spent a decade leading the creative and commercial resurgence of Penguin and the last four years ensuring the tie up with Random House builds on that success. In an engagement with Pearson that dates back to 1979, John has proved himself to be a highly talented and inspirational colleague for all seasons -- distinguished journalist, finance director, publishing executive and leader, highly regarded by his colleagues and industry peers. We thank him for all his work on Pearson's behalf and wish him every future success."

Hoffman said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of chairman of Penguin Random House, continuing the outstanding board leadership begun by my colleague and friend John Makinson. Since my days at Penguin, book publishing has always been close to my heart. As a member of the Penguin Random House Board these past three years, I have really enjoyed working with Markus Dohle and his team, and I look forward to plugging in more deeply with them to help drive the continued success of this amazing company.”