Matthew Kissner, who was named interim CEO of Wiley last October following the resignation of Brian Napack, has had the interim title removed and been named company president and CEO. In announcing the appointment, Wiley board chair Jesse Wiley said that, after a global search for a new leader, “the board has concluded that Matt is the right person to lead Wiley through the next phase of our journey as a knowledge solutions company.”
Kissner has a long history with Wiley. Prior to his recent stint as interim CEO, he filled the same role in 2017 before Napack was named to run the company. Kissner has also served as Wiley group executive and board chair. Kissner also oversaw the completion of Wiley’s recent restructuring, which saw the company sell three large businesses as part of a streamlining process to focus the company around the research and learning markets.
Wiley did better than expected in its fiscal year ended this April, and its financial forecast for fiscal 2025 predicting increases in sales and earnings suggests that management is confident that the reorganization has left Wiley in a stronger position than a year ago. Jesse Wiley pointed to that improvement in announcing Kissner’s choice as CEO: "Over the past nine months, Matt has made great progress improving our organization, accelerating our value creation plans, driving strong momentum in our core, and rallying around new AI opportunities.”
In a statement, Kissner said he was “honored by the board’s trust in me to lead this remarkable company into its next exciting phase.” He added: “Our markets are trending favorably, our financials are strong, and our culture is reinvigorated.”
