Former Macmillan c.e.o. Nicholas 'Nicky' Byam Shaw dies aged 90
Nicholas “Nicky” Byam Shaw, former Macmillan c.e.o. and chairman, has died. Byam Shaw was a pivotal figure in the British book publishing business, leading Macmillan for more than 30 years and also orchestrating the sale of the publishing group to the German company Holtzbrinck in the mid-1990s.
Past Macmillan director Adrian Soar, who worked with Byam Shaw for three decades, described him as a man of "towering achievements", saying that his running of the business "helped to create a publishing empire". Holtzbrinck Publishing Group c.e.o. Stefan von Holtzbrinck said: “Nicky was a rare leader who blended a deep intellectual curiosity with sharp business insight."
Byam Shaw joined Macmillan in 1964 as an international sales executive, before he became managing director from 1969 until 1990 and was made chairman from 1990 until 1998, serving as chair of the Pan and St Martin’s Press imprints before retiring in 1999. He also served on Holtzbrinck’s executive and supervisory boards from 1995 for more than a decade.
He is credited with expanding Macmillan’s reach and influence over his 30 years at the company, contributing to Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Education, St Martin’s Press, Pan Macmillan and Picador. Before Macmillan he worked at Collins for eight years.
He oversaw the launch of Macmillan’s first locally managed offices in Asia—expanding Macmillan Education and Nature into Hong Kong, Tokyo, Delhi and Bangalore—and championed the US market. He also oversaw the then independent’s sale to its now parent Holtzbrinck.
In a company tribute, von Holtzbrinck added of Byam Shaw: "His leadership at Macmillan was not just about financial success but about fostering a culture of excellence and human connection, one that continues to define the company today. Macmillan’s reputation for quality and innovation stands as a testament to his vision. As someone who had the privilege of learning from him, I can personally attest to the profound impact he had on my career and on countless others. His legacy in the publishing world remains a lasting influence, and he will be deeply missed.
Soar, now group commercial director for children’s publisher Nosy Crow, wrote in his own tribute: "The formal records of a great publisher’s life tend to leave out the human side of things. Nicky was very much a human – one of towering achievements.
"Nicky was lured to Macmillan from his job of sales manager of Willam Collins by Alan Maclean (brother of the spy Donald Maclean). Alan had to leave the Foreign Office when his brother defected and became head of the General Books department, housed in a slightly unsavoury office off Trafalgar Square. Nicky had left the Navy after the Korean War and had his publishing education under Billy Collins in Glasgow. He liked to tell stories about Billy Collins coming in to open the post in the morning.
"Harold Macmillan had retired as Prime Minister and came back to the family firm. He wasn’t pleased with what he saw. The company was living off past glories and had three warlords, each in charge of Trade, Education and ‘Overseas’. The warlords didn’t speak to each other much. Mr Macmillan saw in Nicky someone who might bring life back. Slowly in the years following 1964 Nicky established ascendancy, and one by one the warlords exited.
"He was good at people, of whatever language or nationality (admittedly, almost always men), and slowly he assembled a group of people around the world who helped to create a publishing empire, and who brought back life to the company, and brought back publishing inspiration—in the USA Tom McCormack followed by John Sargent, in Australia Brian Stonier, in Japan Yoshi Tadokoro—the list goes on.
"He didn’t always get it right, but was swift to take action when he got it wrong. Nicky could be terrifying, but even if you were terrified you respected and sometimes loved him—his enthusiasm, his determination and his love for life. "
Byam Shaw died on Wednesday 25th September aged 90.
A full obituary will run in The Bookseller in due course.
