DK US Gets New President

Paul Kelly, currently CFO and strategy director for DK, is adding the new title of president of DK US, giving him direct oversight of the U.S. market. Kelly is taking over the leadership role from Mary Marotta, who led the DK US business as senior v-p, North America before leaving in February for another Penguin Random House division, the Knopf Doubleday Group, where she is senior v-p and group sales director. Based in the U.K., Kelly will divide his time between London and New York in his new role.

America is DK’s largest market, and company chief executive Carsten Coesfeld said there is room for more growth.  “Our U.S. business is our biggest opportunity for growth and already we have seen a strong Q1 performance. Having worked closely with our talented team over the past few months I am convinced that there is so much more we can achieve together,” Coesfeld said in a statement. In his statement, Kelly said: “I am very excited to take up this new opportunity and work closer with our talented U.S. team. The U.S. market presents huge potential for DK and I am looking forward to accelerating our strategic plans to grow our sales and reach more readers.”