Allison Hill to replace ABA's Oren Teicher as c.e.o.

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) says Allison Hill will take on the role of c.e.o. as Oren Teicher prepares to step down in November. 

ABA president Jamie Fiocco notified association bookstore members that the position of association c.e.o. had been offered to, and accepted by, Hill, president and c.e.o. of Vroman’s Bookstore, in Pasadena, California. She will officially take up the position from 1st March, 2020. 

In March, Teicher announced he would be stepping down as c.e.o. by the end of 2019, after ten years in post. Teicher will relinquish his c.eo. duties as of 1st November but will remain available to Hill and the ABA Board during November and December to assist in the transition.

Hill, who began her career in the book industry with Simon & Schuster and Waterstone’s Booksellers, was general manager of Book Soup, in West Hollywood, California, before joining Vroman’s in 2004 as general manager. She was made v.p. and c.o.o. of the bookstore in 2007 and became its president and c.e.o. in 2013, responsible for all aspects of operations. She is the former treasurer and v.p. of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association and a former member of ABA’s Booksellers Advisory Council, and she is also a recent recipient of an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Vroman’s was the recipient of Publishers Weekly’s Bookstore of the Year Award in 2008. 

Fiocco said: “Allison has a long and successful history within the bookselling and publishing world, and ABA could not be more delighted that she will be taking on this new role.”

Hill added: “I can’t think of a better opportunity to exercise my passion for books, bookstores, and changing the world through business than as the c.e.o. of ABA. Bookselling has always been a dream job for me, and now I’m trading one dream job for another: the opportunity to re-energise the conversation for our industry and initiate changes that are necessary for us to create a sustainable model. This is a challenging era for booksellers, one that requires new thinking and new partnerships. It’s an exciting time and I am honoured and excited to take on this new role.”

In addition to Hill's appointment, ABA said Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, ABA’s senior program officer, would become the association’s c.o.o., effective 1st November. Dallanegra-Sanger has served as ABA’s senior programming officer since 2011 and has led the development of several association initiatives, including the Children’s Institute, Indies Introduce, and ABA’s pre-order campaign for the indie channel.
 
Fiocco said: “Joy has shown extraordinary leadership in her eight years at ABA, as she has forged essential relationships with our industry partners and developed programs to help booksellers sell more books at greater profit. ABA is most fortunate to have Allison and Joy heading our staff.”

Teicher said: “I am thrilled with the appointments of Allison and Joy. They will make a great team and, with their leadership, I have every confidence in the continued growth and success of both ABA and indie bookstores.” 

ABA will host a farewell to Teicher at the upcoming Winter Institute, in Baltimore, on 21st January 2020.