In a first for the Sharjah Publishers Conference, chair Seth Russo and his panel of publishers and agents – Cyrus Kheradi of PRH US, Kevin Hanson of S&S Canada and Ananth Padmanabhan of HarperCollins Publishers, India – will be taking a critical look at how the relationship between a parent company and its overseas branches works. With senior representatives from both parent and sister companies represented, and with some time for audience question and answers, the Global vs Local panel will seek to explore such topics as:
1. How do different organisations interact with their sister operations overseas?
2. How does this impact on the way in which content is acquired and/or licenced?
3. How do international communications between different parts of the same business operate, and does this vary for the different disciplines such as editorial, sales and marketing?
4. Do sister companies in different markets have their own practices regarding design, pricing and promotion, and when and how does this work best?
5. How do organisations strike the right balance between head office oversight and local office autonomy?
6. Do companies operate executive exchange programs with their offices in other markets? What are the benefits to having overseas operations?
7. What’s the agent’s perspective on working with local companies vs their global counterparts, and how does this affect the management of the sales of rights?
Sister – or subsidiary – companies may not always get their share of the limelight when results are reported at an overall company level. This panel will look at the challenges and opportunities of working in a business that has multiple offices around the world, all with their local way of doing things, all with something to offer such as authors and ideas, and aims to come up with some best practices on managing inter-company relationships around the world.
The panelists for this event are:
Cyrus Kheradi, Senior Vice President, International Sales and Marketing/East Asia Business Development for Penguin Random House in the US, directs all aspects of international print and digital sales for Penguin Random House, U.S. He has the additional responsibility of directing business development in the East Asia region. Before joining Penguin Random House in 2010, Mr. Kheradi held various internationally focused positions with Simon & Schuster, the former Time Warner Book Group (now Hachette) and St. Martin’s Press (now Macmillan).
Ananth Padmanabhan is Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers, India. Since his appointment the company has grown its revenues and expanded its publishing footprint in English language publishing for India. Strategic initiatives included investing in new categories and voices, imprints and new capabilities. HarperCollins has been awarded the Publisher of the Year Award five times.
Kevin Hanson is the President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Canada. He is responsible for all publishing, sales, marketing, financial, and operations activities of Simon & Schuster Canada, which is also the exclusive distributor in Canada of the book and audio products of both Simon & Schuster US and Simon & Schuster UK, as well as for Simon & Schuster’s roster of US distribution clients. Kevin Hanson lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Chair Seth Russo has held several senior level positions in International Sales at publishers such as Bantam Doubleday Dell, Scholastic and Simon & Schuster. He is a frequent panelist and moderator at the Frankfurt, London, BEA and Sharjah Book Fairs and, since 2018, has served as a consultant to the Sharjah Book Authority.
Global Vs Local: How are multi-national publishers working to ensure a global strategy with a regional focus will be discussed at the Publishers Conference on 1 November at 12.30pm
