Cornerstone’s Olivia Allen appointed UK sales director at S&S UK

Olivia Allen will join Simon & Schuster UK (S&S UK) in August in a newly created role as the UK adult sales director, reporting to Mathew Watterson.

Allen is currently the Cornerstone sales manager, recently serving as their acting sales director, having contributed to Cornerstone achieving their best annual results since 2012 (when Fifty Shades of Grey was published).

S&S UK said: “She brings a wealth of experience with her across all areas of the market, whether helping Cornerstone achieve their first ever Waterstones Book of the Year, working strategically with W H Smith Travel as the PRH retailer lead, or working creatively and commercially to drive supermarket sales.

“Olivia has built incredibly strong customer relationships throughout her career, including her time as key account manager at Hachette, helping drive significant growth for major authors such as Robert Harris, Lisa Jewell, Harlan Coben, Gill Hornby, Richard Powers and Lauren Groff, to just name a few.”

Allen said: “I have had the time of my life at PRH and have learned so much from my wonderful team, PRH Sales and Cornerstone, and will miss them enormously.  However, the opportunity to take the next step in my career and join Mat and the team at Simon & Schuster UK was one that I could not turn down.

“I have admired Simon & Schuster’s considerable successes over the past few years from afar and am inspired by the vision, energy and growth plans going forward. I feel very excited for the new chapter ahead.” 

Watterson said: “I worked with Olivia at Cornerstone for many years where she was incredibly impressive throughout. You can’t find a more passionate or dedicated advocate for authors and retailers alike.   

“We’re pleased to help Olivia in the next phase of her stellar career, while she helps us achieve our significant growth ambitions for the coming years. I could not be more thrilled to be reunited with her at Simon & Schuster UK.” 

Allen will join S&S UK on 19th August.