Smith to leave Bonnier Zaffre UK

In the UK, Mark Smith is stepping down from the position of CEO of Bonnier Zaffre after selling his equity stake in the firm, reports the Bookseller.

Smith was named CEO of Bonnier Publishing in 2014, and as part of the deal had brought his company Zaffre Publishing into Bonnier Publishing for an undisclosed fee. Smith was previously the CEO of Quercus, which was sold to the Hachette imprint Hodder & Stoughton in 2014.

The announcement comes four months after Richard Johnson stepped down from the position of CEO of Bonnier Publishing Group, after nine years in the role. He was replaced by Jim Zetterlund, who had worked as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Swedish parent company Bonnier Books. Last month, Sharon Parker stepped down from the role of chief operating officer of Bonnier Publishing Group, after 20 years with the company.

Financial accounts had revealed Bonnier Publishing ‘wrestled with profitability problems’ as the result of rapid growth in 2017 and the problems of the UK business had had a ‘strong negative effect’ on the financial results of Bonnier Books.

In March, Bonnier Publishing has announced it was restructuring its business in Australia, with the majority of staff at Bonnier Publishing Australia entering into redundancy consultation. Titles on the local Echo Publishing lists were consolidated under the Bonnier Zaffre UK imprint. Last month, Allen & Unwin and Bonnier Zaffre announced a new sales and distribution arrangement for Echo Publishing.

Smith is due to leave the company at the end of July.

Category: International news