March 2010 Roundup

PEOPLE

Major changes at Random House under Madeline McIntosh, President Sales, Operations, and Digital. Joining her team are Nina von Moltke, VP, Digital Publishing Development; Amanda Close, VP, Digital Sales and Business Development; and Pete McCarthy, VP, Online and Digital Marketing. Andrea Sheehan, formerly VP & Director, Digital Strategy and Business Development at RHPG, will now report to von Moltke as VP, Digital Publishing and Product Development. Amanda d’Acierno, VP, Publisher, Random House Audio, Books on Tape and Living Language; Tim Jarrell, VP, Publisher, Fodor’s Travel Publishing; Fabrizio Larocca, VP, Creative Director; and Susan Livingston, now Director, Digital Business Management and Planning will also report to von Moltke. In addition, Sheila O’Shea becomes Director of Publicity, Digital Initiatives.Amanda Close, currently VP, Group Sales Director, Crown Publishing Group, becomes VP, Digital Sales and Business Development. Reporting to Close will be Jeff Weber, now Director, Digital Sales, formerly Associate Sales Director, Amazon; Randi Rosenkranz, Senior Manager, Digital Channel Development; and Lilly Kim, Account Manager, Digital Sales.

Pete McCarthy, VP, Online Marketing, will expand his department in a new mission to maximize the ability “to convert consumer interest to incremental purchases.” Newly reporting to McCarthy is Christine McNamara, currently VP, Director, Adult Sales, Borders Group and Books-A-Million and now taking on the newly created role of VP, Partnership Development. Chelsea Vaughn, Director, Online Marketing Operations, will continue to report to McCarthy. In addition, Camille Collette, Director, Web Production, and Jinny Kwon, Creative Director, are transferring to McCarthy’s department from Crown online marketing.

Andrew Weber, SVP, Director, Operations, and Technology, welcomes John Bohman, VP, Sales and Customer Operations, to his team. Bohman formerly held that role reporting to Jaci Updike, SVP, Director, Adult Sales. Continuing to report to Bohman are Chris Demyanovich, VP, Customer Operations, and Janice Vanghele, Director, Sales Services. Newly reporting to Bohman are Christian Waters, VP, Director, Sales Planning, and Kelly Fischbach, formerly Director, Online and Digital Sales, now Director, Online and Digital Sales.

Nihar Malaviya has been promoted to VP, Strategic Planning and Projects for Sales, Operations, and Digital. He was VP, Director, Business Operations and Strategy. Newly reporting to Malaviya is David Thompson, VP, Sales Analysis.

Newly reporting to Jaci Updike is Julie Black, VP, Director, Sales Strategy.

In the Crown Publishing Group, Jill Flaxman has been promoted to VP, Group Sales Director. She was VP, Imprint Sales Director. Jacqui Lebow, formerly responsible for selling Crown to Barnes & Noble, takes Flaxman’s place.

In the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Janet Cooke continues as VP, Group Sales Director. James Kimball continues as VP, Imprint Sales Director. Newly reporting to Kimball is Carlos Azula, VP, Director, Foreign Language Sales.

Candice Chaplin, formerly Marketing Director for the Information Group, has been promoted to Imprint Sales Director for Random House Audio Group, Fodors, Living Language, Prima, The Princeton Review, and Sylvan. Chaplin reports to Cynthia Lasky, SVP, Group Sales Director. Allyson Pearl continues to report to Lasky as VP, Imprint Sales Director.

In Random House Publishing Services, Skip Dye now reports directly to Updike as VP, Group Sales Director.

In online sales: Al Greco, formerly VP, Director, National Retail Accounts, will now move to become VP, Director, Online Sales. Reporting to him will be Anh Schluep, National Account Manager, Knopf Publishing Group; Kristen Fleming, National Account Manager, Crown Publishing Group; and Elena Legeros, Online Sales Coordinator. Newly joining from the Borders team are Richard Callison, National Account Manager, Random House Publishing Group and Jen Tolan, National Account Manager, Audible, Audio, Princeton Review, Fodors, Sylvan, Living Language, and Prima.

In the Barnes & Noble sales group: Kim Shannon continues in her role as VP, Director of Sales, Barnes & Noble, now reporting directly to Updike. In the Borders sales group, with Christine McNamara moving to Pete McCarthy’s Online and Digital Marketing group, Beth Koehler has been promoted to Director of Sales, Borders Group. Books-a-Million: Glenn Ellis, VP, Director, Field Sales, continuing to report to Jaci Updike, will now oversee Cathy Calvert and Karen Hayes, both National Account Managers. Ruth Liebmann continues in her role of VP, Director, Account Marketing, now reporting to Jaci Updike.

Matt Shatz, VP Digital, is leaving the company to become Head of Strategic Content Relationships at Nokia.

Cyrus Kheradi has been named SVP, International Sales and Marketing, at Random House and has resigned from his position as VP, Group Director, International Sales at Simon & Schuster. The international sales team will report to EVP Sales & Marketing Michael Selleck until further notice. Beth Wareham, Director of Cookbook and Lifestyle Publishing at Scribner, has left the company. In other changes at Simon & Schuster, the company’s new telemarketing sales group will comprise Anna Carlino, who was most recently a national account manager; Karen Fink, currently in the marketing department after twenty years at Random House that included working as a telemarketing rep; Stuart Smith, currently on the Sales & Client Communications team; and Hilary Lowe, currently a customer-driven publishing sales coordinator in the Premium Group.

Disney Book Group publisher Jonathan Yaged is leaving the company to become Chief Operating Officer at House Party, a company that organizes brand-sponsored parties.

Marysue Rucci becomes Editorial Director at Putnam on March 15, reporting to President Ivan Held. Rucci was Executive Editor at Simon & Schuster for 13 years.

Ralph Munsen has joined Hachette Book Group as SVP, Chief Information Officer. He was most recently VP, Technology at Clear Channel. He will lead HBG’s technology group and will split his time between the company’s New York and Boston offices.

Bill Preston joins Sourcebooks in the new position of Senior Account Executive, Mass Market and New Business Development. He was most recently VP, North American Business Development for UK distributor Gardners Books and SVP of Retail Sales for Baker & Taylor.

Gail Kump has been named Director of the National Book Network and will work out of the company’s New York office. She was EVP, Director of Marketing at Midpoint Trade Books.

Howard W. Reeves, Publisher of Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books, will become Editor-at-Large for the company.

Holt Senior Editor David Patterson has left the company and may be reached at davidroystonpatterson [at] gmail dot com.

Nathaniel Marunas is returning to Sterling as Executive Editor.

Jane Fleming is leaving her job as Editor at Penguin Press to begin freelance editing.

Michael Campbell joins becker&mayer! in the new position of VP, Sales, Marketing, and New Business Development. Amy Levenson has been promoted to Group Manager, International Sales.

In the agency world: Mary Ann Naples, co-owner of The Creative Culture, has joined startup OpenSky as VP Development, representing authors and brands….Martha Guzman has joined the Maria Carvainis Agency as Contract/Subsidiary Rights Manager. She was previously Associate Manager, Domestic Rights at Random House….Don Fehr has joined Trident Media Group. He was most recently Editorial Director at Kaplan….Following Brendan Deneen’s move to Thomas Dunne Books as an editor, Pouya Shahbazian has joined FinePrint Literary Management as literary manager/producer, specializing in book-to-film and TV deals. He will also head FinePrint Productions, producing and packaging film and television projects….In the UK, Caroline Hardman has moved to the Christopher Little Literary Agency as an agent. She was at the Marsh Agency for six years….Janklow & Nesbit UK Director Tif Loehnis is leaving after 13 years. Claire Patterson will now oversee the office.

Robin Dennis has joined the UK’s Oneworld Publications as Senior Commissioning Editor for popular science, social science, psychology, and current affairs. Previously, she was a senior editor at Times Books.

Global brand and licensing operative Chorion is expanding its executive team with the appointment of Tamra Knepfer as EVP Brand Management and Marketing and Steve Cipolla as EVP Global Licensing and Sales. Most recently, Knepfer was SVP, Global Licensing and Business Development for Rodale, working on publishing brands including Men’s Health and Prevention, and Cipolla was VP and General Manager, ESPN Consumer Products.

Frankfurt Book Fair VP Marketing & Corporate Communications Thomas Minkus is relocating to New York but will continue to work for the show.

Aly Mostel has joined Rodale Books as Associate Director of Communications. She was Publicity Manager at Time.

Anna Crowe has joined Planned Television Arts as a senior publicist. She was at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Random House.

Elizabeth Gold, Managing Editor at Guideposts, has left the company and will be freelancing.

PROMOTIONS AND INTERNAL CHANGES

Chris Rogers has been promoted to Editorial Director at Yale University Press. He was most recently Acting Editorial Director, and previously Editor for History.

Pam Roman, VP, Director, Specialty Sales at Random House, has been promoted to VP, Director of Sales, Special Accounts, reporting to Joan DeMayo and succeeding Andrew Stanley, who has relocated to London.

Leave a Comment

One Comment

  1. Mar 10, 20131:53 am
    Judith Jensen

    I am a past co-worker of Jaci Updike and am trying to get hold of her. Please give her my name and e-mail address. Tell her Curt Eggen and I are wondering how she is. We all worked together at Cole’s the Bookpeople in San Diego, California. We want nothing from her except to catch up with old friends.

    Thank-you

Back to Top