Gutcher swaps John Murray for Thames & Hudson

Ben Gutcher has moved from John Murray Press to Thames & Hudson to be head of UK sales.

Gutcher is currently sales director at the division of Hachette UK. He has helped deliver four consecutive years of sales growth and “contributed to John Murray’s extraordinary year” last year in which it won Imprint of the Year at the British Book Industry Awards.

He joined on the graduate scheme after beginning his career at Ottaker’s. Following the year-long programme he moved to Hodder & Stoughton where he spent the next decade working across the Hodder & Stoughton and John Murray lists. Over the last 10 years he has “championed independent booksellers, been at the forefront of the development of UK online retail and digital sales” according to a Thames & Hudson spokesperson. He was also a Bookseller Rising Star in 2012 and became sales director the following year.

Gutcher praised Thames & Hudson’s “incredible list”. He said: "I will be sad to leave Hachette; it has been a great and rewarding place to work but I am thoroughly looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities ahead of me."

Christian Frederking, group sales director at Thames & Hudson, said: "At John Murray Press Ben built a professional and well-rounded team, and thanks to his deep understanding and wealth of experience within the UK trade I have no doubt that his skill set is the right one for us and that he will ensure that UK sales are a thriving environment at Thames & Hudson."

He will start his new role on 4th October.