You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Katie Espiner steps up to run Hachette UK's trade business
Katie Espiner has been promoted to chief executive of the nine Adult Trade Divisions at Hachette UK, following a series of promotions and structural changes at Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group (HBG) in the US.
Hachette UK will now be structured into three core areas of publishing, comprising Adult Trade, Children’s Trade — led by Hilary Murray Hill — and Education, which will be headed by Seshni Jacobs, who has been promoted to c.e.o. of Hodder Education.
Espiner, Hill and Jacobs will report to and work with HBG and Hachette UK c.e.o. David Shelley, to lead Hachette UK’s publishing. This news comes six months after the expansion of Shelley’s role to oversee HBG in the US.
The move shifts a number of reporting lines into Espiner. Adult Trade includes Bookouture, Dialogue, Headline, Hodder & Stoughton, John Murray Press, Little, Brown, Octopus, Orion and Quercus. Espiner, who will lead all the divisions, has been c.e.o. of Hodder & Stoughton and Orion since 2022, overseeing Hodder & Stoughton’s best results in 20 years under the leadership of new managing director Oliver Malcolm.
"After a record-breaking year at HUK in 2023, I’m extremely happy to announce a new structure which will help us reach ever more readers for our authors and creative partners’ works," Shelley said.
"Katie has proved her effectiveness with record results at both Orion and, in 2023, at Hodder," Shelley said. "She’s a visionary leader and I know will help every one of the HUK divisions continue to flourish." She has also held positions at Penguin Random House and Harper Collins, where she launched Borough Press.
The Education strand comprises Hodder Education, which is led by current m.d. and newly appointed c.e.o. Jacobs, who has helped transform the business from a primarily UK-centric print publisher into a global provider of EdTech solutions. Meanwhile, the Children’s Trade strand will continue to be led by Hill, c.e.o. of Hachette Children’s Group, who has driven 90% growth since 2015, and combined all Hachette’s Children’s publishing into one division.
“Seshni has had a huge impact since joining us, and I’m delighted to recognise this and support her ambition for growth in our education business, which has always been a key strand of publishing for us," Shelley added. "And in Hilary Murray Hill, we are fortunate to have one of the most outstanding leaders in the children’s sector who has consistently led her business to new heights, and who has great plans for the future."
Charlie King has been promoted to c.e.o. of Little, Brown Book Group, and c.e.o. of HUK International Divisions to reflect Hachette UK’s ongoing international growth. King’s remit will expand beyond his current Little, Brown m.d. role to lead Hachette Australia, Hachette New Zealand, Hachette India, Hachette Ireland and Laurence King Verlag.
In his Little, Brown role, King will report to Espiner, while in his international role, he succeeds — and will report to — Hachette UK and HBG deputy c.e.o. Richard Kitson, who has led all of Hachette UK’s international businesses since 2010. With this change, Kitson becomes chair of HUK International Divisions, and will continue to lead the Central Departments in the UK and the US, and to work with Paperblanks, which Hachette UK acquired in 2022.
“As Richard Kitson’s work has developed across all English-language markets, and as our international businesses under his leadership have shown unprecedented growth, it feels like the perfect time to help further fuel that growth with the promotion of Charlie King to directly oversee these businesses as c.e.o.," Shelley said. "Charlie has achieved extraordinary results for Little, Brown in recent years, consistently demonstrating exceptional leadership. I know he and Richard — who will remain very involved as chair — have big plans for the Hachette companies in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, India and Germany, and we are lucky to have dynamic, exceptional leaders in each of these countries.”
In addition, Nick Davies, currently m.d. of John Murray Press, will also become m.d. of Quercus, leading the two divisions, and will also report to Espiner. He will look to accelerate the growth of both divisions, working with Jon Butler, who continues in his role as m.d. of Quercus, and will report into Davies.
The current c.e.o. of Hachette UK Distribution, Matt Wright, has become c.e.o. of Hachette UK and HBG Distribution, and Joanne Westbrook, current chief operating officer of Hachette UK Distribution, has been promoted to m.d. of Hachette UK Distribution. In this newly created role, Wright will be responsible for leading the growth of Hachette UK and HBG’s distribution business, and their portfolio of client publishers, including Abrams, Chronicle, and Yen Press in the US, as well as Thames & Hudson, Elsevier and Bloomsbury in the UK, and Quarto and Lonely Planet in both countries.
Wright will oversee the UK and US distribution businesses with Frank Casolaro, vice-president of HBG Distribution, reporting into him, while Wright will continue to report to Shelley. In the UK, Westbrook will step up to lead UK distribution, while continuing to report to Wright.
Across the pond, HBG’s Ben Sevier has stepped up to president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing Group, taking on additional imprints, to recognise his successful leadership of Grand Central Publishing (formerly he was executive vice-president and publisher), and to support the ongoing strategic growth of HBG.
Also in the US, as earlier this year, Carrie Bloxson has been promoted to senior vice-president for culture and diversity, equity and inclusion, leading on Hachette UK and HBG’s strategic vision for Changing the Story and Sally Kim was appointed president and publisher of Little, Brown & Company.
“With these promotions, I believe we will be able to harness the fantastic talent across both HBG US and Hachette UK and help make it easy for ever more readers to discover the books we publish on both sides of the Atlantic," Shelley concluded. "I’d like to congratulate Katie, Seshni, Charlie, Nick, Ben, Carrie, Matt, and Jo on their really well-deserved promotions.”
