The
New Penguin
As
Pearson Hones Its Corporate Units, Penguin Putnam Starts
Making Sense
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (SEPTEMBER 2001)
As
Pearson CEO Marjorie Scardino likes to
say, “It’s hard to make complicated things simple, but
it’s usually worth it.” Well, this month Publishing
Trends takes her at her word, and plunges into the
fearsome Penguin Putnam organizational chart
to sort out the dizzying number of personnel changes,
realignments, and other corporate shuffles that have
come down the pike in recent months. Indeed, Scardino,
along with Penguin Group Chairman John Makinson,
have been a couple of latter-day Thoreaus wandering
the shores of Penguin Pond, seeking to “simplify, simplify,
simplify” as they busily pare and hone the company into
“a club of complementary businesses.” At the same time,
Pearson as a whole has put Penguin front and center
as it attempts to avail itself of the publishing group’s
cache of content, particularly for use in the products
of Pearson Education.
All of which means an even more glorious fiefdom for
Penguin Putnam President and CEO Phyllis Grann,
who operates from an impressively consolidated position
in the US. Though the actual lines of power may still
seem boggling (you can download the org chart as a PDF
file via a link at the end of this article), it’s clear
that Grann and longtime lieutenant David Shanks
— who runs Penguin Putnam’s operations and juggles a
half dozen direct reports himself — are doing some simplifying
of their own as they trouble-shoot both editorial and
sales reporting lines. The most recent appointments,
announced last month and described below, only further
strengthen a heretofore randomly assembled publishing
empire.
Meanwhile, a far-reaching bout of streamlining has hit
the UK side as well, with Penguin UK CEO Anthony
Forbes Watson informing the press recently that
he was striving mightily to “simplify our structure
and further strengthen our performance.” Accordingly,
Helen Fraser took the reins of Penguin General,
Penguin Press, and Puffin, unifying control of Penguin’s
three author-driven publishing divisions. Penguin General
Marketing Director John Bond took control for
all three divisions as well, and Publicity Director
Joanna Prior did likewise. On the Dorling
Kindersley side in the UK, Andrew Welham becomes
Managing Director of worldwide activities, working closely
with DK Publisher Christopher Davis, who reports
to him.
At the moment, Scardino’s labors appear to be paying
off. Pearson reported that the Penguin Group’s sales
were up 13% for the first half of this year, to $575
million ($95 million of which came from DK, acquired
in May 2000). Operating profits grew about 5% to $53.3
million. Underlying profit (excluding DK and foreign
exchange) was up 7%. In the US, the company notes, 59
Penguin Putnam titles reached the New York Times
bestseller list, an increase of 26% over the first half
of 2000.
About
the Chart
In
the interests of full disclosure, although we’ve endeavored
to be completely accurate, it should be noted that even
those whom we consulted at Penguin Putnam were uncertain
about the implications of some of the recent changes.
Herewith, then, is a summary of the latest moves:
•
Adrian Zackheim’s new business books imprint — he
is due to start at Penguin this month — will report
to Susan Petersen Kennedy, and will be served by Viking.
On the other hand, Bill Shinker’s imprint (where
Lauren Marino will be joining him) will report
to Carole Baron and be served by Dutton.
•
For DK, US COO Skip Fischer reports to David
Shanks. In the UK, Managing Director Andrew Welham is
charged with strengthening the company’s position in
the global marketplace.
•
Clare Ferraro’s mandate includes marketing for Plume,
where she and Kathryn Court now have a dotted-line
relationship.
•
Leslie Gelbman has taken on the NAL presidency from
Louise Burke (who departed to Pocket),
along with responsibility for Berkley. And Mariann
Donato Caraballo reports to Dick Heffernan
for sales and Doug Whiteman for marketing.
•
In Canada, formerly an outpost of the Penguin UK
empire that was annexed for Putnam by Phyllis Grann,
Cynthia Good shares the president’s title with
Don Howard, and reports to Grann for editorial.
Howard used to be President of BEJO, the former Putnam
Canadian outpost, and has always reported to the US.
Doubtless there will be more changes coming down the
pike. But at present, Penguin seems to be faring better
than the rest of the Pearson fleet, which as a whole
reported losses of $195 million for the first half of
the year. The media giant’s stock has fallen more than
50% from a March 2000 peak, a slide that analysts have
chalked up to investor wariness about some of Scardino’s
big acquisitions, as well as the southward drift of
Pearson’s return on capital. As Scardino told shareholders
last year, “Pearson is beginning to make sense.” Let’s
hope for her sake that Penguin Putnam’s movement toward
clarity endures.
Click
here to download the Penguin Putnam organizational chart
as a PDF document.
©2001
Publishing Trends
