Follett Corporation this week confirmed that COO George Coe has retired from the company, effective May 1.
The news comes as a surprise as Coe, a longtime, well-respected figure in the library distribution business, was just appointed COO in March, and had been on the job for only one month.
At press time, it appeared Follett had no immediate plans to replace Coe. Asked about a possible successor, a spokesperson said only the David Cully, who was named president of Baker & Taylor following Coe's promotion, would remain in that position.
Coe came to Follett in April 2016 as part of Follett's acquisition of Baker & Taylor, where Coe had served as president and CEO since 2014, and since 2000 had been president of B&T’s library and education division, the company’s largest group.
Prior to joining B&T, Coe was v-p and general manager of Brodart Books’ library automation and K-12 software management divisions.
Over his long tenure, B&T had credited Coe with being “instrumental" in developing many of the company's important programs, "such as digital media and e-content platform delivery services, data analytics and outsourcing capabilities in collection development and technical services.”
Coe has also served on several industry-related boards, including the board of visitors for the University of North Carolina’s School of Information and Library Science, and the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, which is a division of the American Library Association.
