Sells to succeed Christie as DK sales director

DK's UK and group sales director Ed Christie has decided to leave the publishing industry and move into the teaching profession. Following the news, Bloomsbury's Jacqueline Sells has been appointed his successor. 

Christie, who was appointed UK sales director in February, having been in the role for three months prior in an interim capacity, said it was the right time to try his hand at something new. "It has been a privilege to work with such great people and wonderful books at DK over the past year, but now is the right time for me to do something completely different," he said.

Ian Hudson, DK c.e.o., said: "I am hugely grateful to Ed for his excellent leadership of our sales and inventory teams, his significant contribution to the company as a whole and his support for me personally. We wish him all the very best for his move into the world of education."

Sells, who is currently international sales director and global academic sales and marketing director at Bloomsbury, has been responsible for leading sales teams and implementing growth strategies for the last five years. With over 19 years of experience working within publishing overall, she has also held positions at Scholastic and Oxford University Press.

In welcoming her to the team, Hudson said: "We are delighted that Jacqueline is joining DK. Her extensive knowledge working across all publishing genres, coupled with her energy and drive, will be invaluable in supporting our successful publishing programmes and leading our first class UK based sales and inventory teams."

Sells added: "I am delighted to be joining DK. I have long admired its strong publishing programme and brand and I’m looking forward to working with the DK team and customers to make each book a success. DK’s aim is to inspire, educate and entertain, and I am thrilled to be a part of this commitment to readers everywhere."

Christie will depart in September, after which Sells will join the company on 8th October.