Evan Schnittman, brought on by Hachette Book Group in May 2012 to help make the company’s sales and marketing efforts more compatible with the growth in digital sales, will leave the publisher December 12. With Schnittman’s departure, HBG will eliminate the position of chief marketing and sales officer, which it had created for Schnittman. To lead its sales operation, HBG has promoted Chris Murphy to senior v-p, group sales director.
Murphy has been with HBG for 15 years, most recently as senior v-p retail sales. In his new role, Murphy will oversee all of HBG’s sales groups, including physical, digital, the Christian book market, James Patterson publishing, international, clients, children’s books, special markets, and strategy and operations. He will report to HBG CEO Michael Pietsch.
In a memo to employees announcing the change, Pietsch called Schnittman “a powerful agent for change” who, during a time of rapid technology change, “kept Hachette’s sales group in the vanguard.” Among Schnittman’s accomplishments Pietsch noted were combining digital and physical book sales, creating the sales, strategy, and operations group, and modernizing HBG’s approach to sales conferences, coop, and catalogs.
