PRH UK bolsters leadership team

Crown Publishing Group's Philipp Bartscher is moving from New York to join Penguin Random House UK as strategy director in September.

He will report to c.e.o. Tom Weldon and become a member of the UK leadership team.

In a second senior appointment for PRH UK, Rebecca Sinclair, currently vice president of brand at Pearson, is returning to the company as Penguin Random House UK's head of communications following the departure of Hannah Glenny to Google. She will also join the leadership team.

Bartscher, who joins as strategic director, has worked within Penguin Random House and Bertelsmann for eight years. He is currently vice president, director business strategy at the Crown Publishing Group in New York. As a member of its executive group, he works closely on Crown’s growth strategy, managing a team responsible for analysing and responding to marketplace opportunities and risks. 

Previously, he was director for corporate development at Random House and then vice president for corporate development at Penguin Random House, acting as a "trusted advisor" to global c.e.o. Markus Dohle and senior executives across all departments in New York on a wide range of strategic and commercial projects.

Bartscher also has experience of the UK market, having worked with Penguin Random House UK’s consumer and digital development team in London for four months in 2016. 

Weldon said: “Philipp combines a smart, strategic and commercial brain with a love of books and publishing. I know we are all going to benefit from his deep thinking and his global perspective of our company and industry.”

Sinclair will also join PRH in September, as UK communications director following Glenny's departure at the end of August.

Sinclair spent six years as communications director at Penguin Books between 2007 and 2013 before relocating to Singapore to lead Pearson’s corporate affairs across Asia. Sinclair moved back to London in 2015, taking responsibility for Pearson’s brand globally and overseeing the international launch and implementation of its new brand. In her new role, she will report to Weldon and join Penguin Random House’s UK leadership team.

Glenny, who has been with PRH since 2014, after joining from strategic communications agency Portland, leaves to take up a role in Google's UK communications team. She became PRH's head of communications in November last year following the restructure of PRH UK's communications department which saw group communications director Maureen Corish depart.

Weldon said PRH would be sad to see Glenny leave, but also welcomed Sinclair's "broad range of expertise and tremendous energy". 

“Hannah has been such a force for good at Penguin Random House UK and we are very sad to see her leave. But she has a terrific new job at Google and we are going to watch her career with much pride," said Weldon.

“We are also thrilled that Rebecca is joining Penguin Random House. She has a strong affinity for the industry and a passion for communicating the importance of books and reading. She will bring a broad range of expertise and a tremendous energy to the company.

“I am delighted that Rebecca, Philipp and Val Garside, our HR Director, are joining our UK Leadership Team. They are a wonderful injection of new blood, and I and the entire Leadership Team are feeling very excited about the next chapter for Penguin Random House UK.”