Hachette Livre, the Paris-based owners of the US-based Hachette Book Group (HBG), have announced an organizational restructuring for the prominent international trade book publisher.
US-based CEO Michael Pietsch will retire and serve as chairman, while his UK counterpart David Shelley will step up to a new trans-Atlantic role.
“Hachette Livre, the book publishing arm of Lagardère Group, is bringing the Hachette Book Group and its U.K.-based counterpart, Hachette UK, into what it calls a new English-language management structure,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly executive editor.
Under the reorganization, Albanese explains, UK CEO David Shelley becomes CEO of both HBG and HUK, reporting to Hachette Livre deputy CEO Stéphanie Ferran and Arnaud Lagardère, chairman and CEO of Hachette Livre.
Michael Pietsch will retire as Hachette US CEO and was named chairman.
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According to Lagardère’s annual report, the US-based publisher accounted for 29% of the publishing division’s revenue in 2022, making it Lagardère Publishing’s largest market. By contrast, the U.K. accounted for 17% of sales.
“It’s puzzling to think how these two operations, with separate territories, currencies, markets, and laws, can be managed as a single unit,” Albanese says.
The changes come one week after Arnaud Lagardère was appointed chairman and CEO of Hachette Livre, replacing Pierre Leroy.