Polly Powell made c.e.o. of Quarto UK operations

Polly Powell has been appointed c.e.o. of Quarto’s UK operations and has been made an executive director of the company.

Powell, a former publisher at Pavilion Books, joined the firm late last year as an advisor to Group c.e.o. C K Lau following a period of boardroom upheaval at the publishing house. She had been tasked with help Lau shape the creative direction of its UK business.

Her appointment comes after the Quarto Group raised £13.9m in a share offer last week. Of the shares on offer, 57.4% were taken up by shareholders with Lau and the Giunti family taking the rest. Andrea Giunti Lombardo has now been named as a non-executive director of the company.

Powell told The Bookseller: "I feel very honoured and excited to be taking on this role and helping to shape Quarto’s future."

She added: "I have enormous respect for C K, and I think that having Italian publisher and large bookstore chain owner Giunti as a major shareholder will be an exciting development for Quarto."

Powell, who has over 30 years' experience in non-fiction publishing, will continue to serve on the board of Pavilion–the company she became sole owner of in 2012.

Lombardo, a member of the board of Giunti Editore, Italy’s second largest publishing house and owner of the Giunti al Punto bookshop chain, said: "I am very honoured to join Quarto's board of directors and hope to contribute to the development of this great, global publishing house."

The company also announced today that Michael Mousley has stepped down as non-executive director of the company.

Lau, who remains Group c.e.o, said: "I am delighted to welcome Polly and Andrea as directors. Their appointment today will give the board a strong focus on product development.

"Michael Mousley returned to Quarto in May 2018 to assist with the company's refinancing and restructuring plans which culminated in the recent open offer. I want to thank Michael for his many contributions to Quarto."

Among the changes announced since Powell’s arrival at the company was the return of Quarto’s Frances Lincoln and Aurum Press trade imprints. The move reversed a 2018 decision to consolidate the imprints into White Lion Publishing.