PRH's Annette Danek-Akey to Head B&N Supply Chain

Annette Danek-Akey, EVP and chief supply chain officer at Penguin Random House, will leave the company in August to take a similar role at Barnes & Noble, where she will start in September.

Danek-Akey began her career in publishing at Bantam Doubleday Dell in 1996 as an industrial engineer and has worked through its merger with Random House, and then with Penguin. She is well-known in supply chain circles and helped build PRH's supply chain into one of the best in publishing. She was honored in the Alcott Global Top 30 Leaders in Supply Chain Awards 2023

Danek-Akey joins B&N as the company continues its program to open as many as 50 new outlets this year, an effort that will dramatically expand its store footprint. “Annette joins Barnes & Noble at a pivotal moment of growth in the business when the excellence of the supply chain is of central importance to our success,” said B&N CEO James Daunt in a statement. “We are delighted to gain from her deep experience of book distribution and commitment to developing excellence in her teams.”

With Danek-Akey's departure, PRH has promoted Jeff Abraham to COO of Penguin Random House US, effective immediately. He will oversee the fulfillment organization alongside publishing operations, IT, Bookmaking, strategic projects, Zeitgeist, and Penguin Random House Publisher Services. Abraham was named head of Random House Publisher Services in 2006 and was appointed president of the Penguin Random House Publisher Services group in 2016. In February 2023, Abraham was promoted to president of publishing operations, technology, and services.

In announcing Abraham's promotion, PRH CEO Nihar Malaviya said it reflected the "natural progression" of Abraham's advocacy for the fulfillment team’s contributions to the business.

Danek-Akey also has had direct oversight of Penguin Random House UK distribution and with her upcoming departure Deborah Wright has been appointed COO of PRH UK. Other high-level changes include Abraham's promotion of Alison Martin to SVP for customer solutions, logistics, and strategy.