Saturday, July 3, 2010

Penguin names Davidar's replacement

London-based Penguin Group named a new executive on June 23 to replace fired CEO David Davidar as president of Penguin International, a division created last year to build the brand globally.

Penguin Group CEO John Makinson announced that Andrew Phillips, current deputy CEO of Penguin subsidiary DK, will take over Mr. Davidar's role as one of the company's “four regional CEOs around the world.”

Unlike Davidar, an Indian who was based in Toronto, Mr. Phillips is a Westerner who will be based in Delhi, responsible for managing the brand in India, Africa and the Middle East. Prior to joining DK, best known for its innovative Eyewitness series, Mr. Phillips was an executive at video-game giant Electronic Arts.

In addition to being CEO of Penguin International, Mr. Davidar headed the company's Canadian division in Toronto. So the appointment leaves an empty corner office at the embattled headquarters, a vacancy compounded by the imminent departure of Penguin Canada publisher Nicole Winstanley on maternity leave. “We expect to make an announcement on the Canadian front very soon,” company spokesman Yvonne Hunter said Tuesday morning.

On that front, industry rumours of potential replacements for Mr. Davidar centre on two veterans of the Canadian industry: Doug Pepper, current president of McClelland & Stewart, and Simon & Schuster Canada president Kevin Hanson. Mr. Pepper, who describes himself as a “very, very good friend” of Mr. Davidar and published two of his novels, declined to comment on the matter when reached in his office Tuesday.

Full report here Globe and Mail 

Related news

Andrew Phillips named president of Penguin International, replaces David Davidar 

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