Legato to Become Part of PGW; Suchomel Out

Jul 24, 2014

With its deal to acquire Perseus Books Group's distribution business set to close next week, Ingram has confirmed that the recently formed Legato Publishers Group will become part of PGW and that Legato founder Mark Suchomel will officially leave the company August 1.

In a statement sent to PW, Mark Ouimet, v-p and general manager, Ingram Publisher Services, wrote: "As part of the acquisition of the Perseus distribution business and its transition to Ingram, Mark Suchomel will not be continuing on in his role as President of Legato Publishers Group as of August 1, 2014. We are expecting the deal to acquire the Perseus distribution assets to close on July 31^st and look forward to working with all of the Legato clients as part of the Publishers Group West division."

The statement continued: "We appreciate and respect what Mark Suchomel has accomplished at Legato and wish him all the best."

Ouimet went into a little more detail in a letter sent to Legato's 24 client-publishers Thursday:

"We are expecting the deal to close on July 31, 2014. We sincerely look forward to working with you and all of the Legato publishers to help develop and grow your business, Ouimet wrote," After the deal closes, all Legato publishers will become part of the Publishers Group West division. We believe this is an opportunity to enhance our service to you and to provide a more tightly integrated relationship with PGW.

"As a result of this change, we are saddened that Legato President Mark Suchomel will not be transitioning to Ingram Content Group. We appreciate all that Mark has done for you and the Legato business, and are grateful for his contributions in building Legato into the company it is today.

"Helping you navigate this transition is critical to us. Jeff Tegge, Vice President of Sales, and Sarah Armstrong, Sales and Marketing Assistant, will continue to work closely with you. In addition, Heather Cameron, Director of Marketing at PGW will work with you as your direct Account Manager during this transition." Ouimet concluded by promising to call each client-publisher as soon as possible to answer any questions they might have.

Suchomel founded Legato in May 2013 after leaving as president of IPG. Since its launch, Legato has been using the PGW infrastructure and sales reps with Suchomel focusing on building the client base.