Dan Baker, COO, for the Baker Book House Company — the parent company for the Baker Publishing Group and the Grand Rapids bookstore where the company began in 1939—has announced he will retire in September, but remain active on the board of the family-owned company.
Dan Baker joined the company in 1997 in marketing and publicity and moved through several roles until he was promoted to COO in 2017. In a press release Thursday, he praised his coworkers and said he made the decision "with the settled assurance that the company is in good hands." Plans for the COO transition plans will be announced later this summer, according to a spokesperson.
This is the second leadership change at the top of the company this year. His brother, Dwight Baker, retired from both his CEO position and the board in May when he was succeeded by president and CEO Jesse Myers. Myers praised Dan's "tremendous positive impact on this company during his tenure here. I’ve valued and enjoyed working with him both here at Baker and as a fellow member of the ECPA research committee before joining the team. So, I’m grateful that I’ll continue to work with Dan as he serves Baker in ownership and board decisions."
