ReaderLink has made a series of moves that CEO Dennis Abboud said reflect the recent expansion of the company, while also positioning it for future growth.
Since Abboud took over ReaderLink (then known as Levy Home Entertainment) in 2011, the distributor has entered new businesses such as direct-to-consumer fulfillment and book publishing. Meanwhile, its customer base has expanded into almost every retail channel. To accommodate the changes, Abboud said, the company has "designed a new organizational hierarchy to support ReaderLink’s current operations and to better position us for continued growth by freeing up resources to focus on our long-term strategy.”
Effective October 1, John Bode has been hired to fill the newly created position of executive v-p and chief operating officer, reporting directly to Abboud. Bode’s background includes executive positions at the Tribune Company and Source Interlink, a major magazine and book publisher/distributor.
In a promotion, Jeremy Armer has been named senior v-p of finance and business analytics. Also working on analytics is Kyle Marx, who will join ReaderLink later this month as the new v-p of enterprise analytics. He had been director of global supply chain optimization at American Hotel Register Company.
The executive shifts include the upcoming retirement of Mike Hesselbach, ReaderLink’s chief marketing officer, who will leave the company in September 2019 after 24 years. In anticipation of his retirement, ReaderLink said David Barker has been promoted to executive v-p and CMO. For the remainder of his time at ReaderLink, Hesselbach will help transition of his duties to Barker and work closely with the company's publishing division, Printers Row Publishing Group.
Expanding on Barker’s duties, Abboud said that he will "oversee sales, business development, marketing, and ReaderLink Digital." To take over his old responsibilities as senior v-p of sales, David Travettoo is rejoining the company as of July 30.
“With these changes, ReaderLink will be well-positioned to serve the needs of our retailer and publisher partners for the foreseeable future,” Abboud said.
