As part of what it termed "our routine efforts to ensure that we are organized to best serve our customers and support the growth of the business," HMH’s trade publishing division has restructured certain parts of the organization. A spokesperson said the realignment included "a limited set of position eliminations, as well as the creation of new roles to meet our business goals."
Among the changes were shifts in the sales department; Marie Gorman, senior v-p of trade sales, left the company last week. With her departure, Ed Spade, formerly director of digital sales, strategy & business development, has been promoted to v-p of national accounts, trade sales & strategy. According to HMH, Spade and Colleen Murphy, v-p of special markets, mass market, and product development, will co-lead the sales team in their respective channels.
To help optimize sales, HMH created the role of director of sales analytics and appointed Christine Sikule to the post. Sikule had been at Penguin Random House, where she managed metadata optimization for the online sales team. At HMH, a spokesperson said, Sikule will be focused on partnering with the sales team, editorial and business operations to improve HMH's sales analysis and reporting.
In addition to the changes in sales, other cuts are rumored to have been made in the design department and in business operations unit. HMH had no comment on those rumors.
