Michael Pietsch, CEO of Hachette Book Group, has been elected as chairman of the board of the Association of American Publishers for the 2022-2023 term. Pietsch previously served as vice for the 2021-2022 term, and has been on the AAP Board since 2013.
Pietsch succeeds Brian Napack, president and CEO of John Wiley & Sons, who served as AAP chairman from 2020-2022 and now transitions to immediate past chairman.
The news was one of several board changes announced by the AAP. Julia Reidhead, chairman and president of W.W. Norton was elected as vice chairman of the board, while Blaise R. Simqu, CEO of SAGE Publications joined the board as an appointed director. The board also re-elected Jeremy North, managing director for books at Taylor & Francis, to continue in the role of treasurer. Tim Bozik, president of higher education at Pearson, cycles off of the executive committee after nearly five years of service as a board officer.
“Throughout its history, AAP has been governed by a board of directors committed to preserving an independent and innovative publishing industry for the benefit of current and future societies,” said Maria Pallante, AAP president and CEO. “With Michael Pietsch and Julia Reidhead assuming pivotal, leadership roles, this organization remains poised to address the numerous and serious public policy challenges that threaten the vitality of publishing across all sectors"
For his part, Pietsch said, "AAP is engaged in a series of critical initiatives that go straight to the heart of how we value, protect, and incentivize authors and publishers. It is an honor to stand with my board colleagues and the entire AAP team as we fight to preserve the foundational copyright principles that have served culture, education, and the economy for so long.”
