Christine Ball, formerly v-p and deputy publisher at Putnam, Dutton, and Berkley, has been promoted to senior v-p and publisher of the three imprints. Ball will continue to report to Ivan Held, president of the three units. The move follows the departure of Ben Sevier, as v-p and publisher of Dutton, who is replacing Jamie Raab as publisher of Grand Central Publishing on February 27.
Ball's promotion is, Penguin Publishing Group president Madeline McIntosh wrote in a letter to staff, the "natural step" following two years of unifying leadership across the three imprints under Held and Ball.
"Moving Christine in as a direct replacement for Ben would have been an easy, natural choice, but moving her out of Putnam and Berkley would have been a loss for them and for the group," McIntosh wrote. "I also have noted how much the group has benefited from the strong and complementary partnership between Ivan and Christine."
Ball will head all three individual marketing and publicity teams, and "will continue to take a lead with sales," Mcintosh continued. Ball will also work more directly with the editorial teams under Held, each of which will continue to consider acquisitions and buy them independently of each other.
