Following the appointment earlier this year of a new senior management team for DK Publishing's North American branch, DK COO Shaun Hodgkinson has announced further changes to the branch's leadership structure in a memo to staff, resulting in a number of layoffs.
In an effort to "ensure our titles are best suited and accessible for North American readers in terms of positioning, language, and content," a new editorial team will launch under the direction of executive editor Lori Hand and executive managing editor Billy Fields. Both will report to Brandi Larsen, the branch's v-p of publicity. Under Larsen, the department will also "build on...local publishing efforts," with publisher Mike Sanders handling adult titles and Shannon Beatty and Allie Singer, senior editor and editor respectively, helming the children's publishing efforts.
A new sales management structure sees v-p of sales Tim Greco, director of sales Carol Stokke, and senior director of marketing Jaimie Cona reporting to Mary Marotta, v-p of sales, marketing, and publicity. DK's North American branch will also base its sales representative for Amazon position in the publisher's New York office.
As a result of the changes, DK has laid off v-p of sales Tom Korman, Amazon national account manager Bill Jennings, editorial director Nancy Ellwood, senior editor Margaret Parrish, and production specialist Brian Massey.
"We are confident that with this new structure under our U.S. senior management team, we will grow and thrive in North America," Hodgkinson wrote.
