Ian Hudson is stepping down as ceo of DK and will leave the company at the end of April, “to recharge his batteries before embarking on the next stage of his career.” Hudson joined Random House in 1992 and has been a member of the Penguin Random House Global Executive Committee since 2013. He says in the announcement, “It has been a privilege to enjoy the support of my hugely talented colleagues across DK over the past nearly four years. We have been on a challenging journey together and, with some wonderful support from PRH colleagues around the world, DK’s transformation is something we can all be proud of. With growing sales and profitability, an ambitious growth strategy and a supremely strong leadership team in place, DK is well positioned for further success.”
Carsten Coesfeld will take over as ceo starting March 9. Coesfield has been with Bertelsmann since 2011, most recently as president of telecommunications in Arvato’s supply chain solutions group. PRH ceo Markus Dohle says, “With Carsten’s collaborative and open style of leadership, and the continued strong direction set by Rebecca Smart, Paul Kelly, Shaun Hodgkinson and our DK Executive members, and especially with the commitment and expertise of our DK colleagues around the world, we can take the company to the next level.”
The Ross Yoon Agency has hired three additional agents. Ethan Bassoff moves over from Massie & McQuilkin, working in the New York office. Tina Pohlman joins the agency’s Washington, DC office (she was at Union Literary most recently), as does developmental editor, book doctor, and publishing consultant Shannon O’Neill. Gail Ross says in the announcement, “We are thrilled to be adding such a talented and experienced core of publishing professionals to our roster.” She adds, “We look forward to expanding our quality nonfiction and fiction lists and our presence in New York. The need for books that educate, inspire and entertain savvy readers is more critical now than ever.”
Roger Freet will join Folio Literary Management as an agent and vice president. He was previously with Foundry Literary + Media.
At Grand Central, Maddie Caldwell has been promoted to senior editor; Rachel Kambury to assistant editor, Twelve; Kamrun Nesa to publicist; Alli Rosenthal to associate publicist; Tiffany (Sanchez) Porcelli to marketing manager; Alana Spendley to marketing associate; and Elizabeth Connor to senior art director.
Hilary Swanson has been promoted to senior editor at Harper One.
At Bloomsbury, Grace McNamee has been promoted to associate editor and Morgan Jones to assistant editor.
Erika Schwartz joins Random House Children’s as production supervisor. She was previously a senior production associate at Little, Brown Children’s & Running Press Kids.
Ethan Bassoff, Tina Pohlman, and Shannon O’Neill have joined The Ross Yoon Agency as agents. Bassoff was previously at Massie & McQuiklin; Pholman was most recently with Union Literary; and O’Neill has worked the last fifteen years as a developmental editor, book doctor, and publishing consultant.
At Porchlight Book Company, 21-year veteran Sally Haldorson was promoted to managing director, with expanded duties that include organizational strategy and leadership development. Ryan Schleicher has been promoted to the new position of operations director, Emily Porter moves into the sales department as a sales specialist, and Andrew Koenig moves to custom projects. Terry Tayler has been hired as custom projects coordinator, and Dan Brouchard joins the company as customer service specialist. Accounting director Shawn Quinn retired on February 28 after 30 years with the company.
Partnerships
Boyds Mills & Kane announced that it has made “a substantial investment” in minedition, Michael Neugebauer’s board and picture book publisher. Founder and publisher Neugebauer keeps “complete creative control” while Boyd Mills & Kane cfo Leying Jiang will overseee business operations. Minedition’s sales and distribution will move from Independent Publishers Group to Penguin Random House, which distributes Boyds Mills, on July 1.