In a move that Penguin Group officials hope will improve the profitability of Dorling Kindersley, Penguin is making a number of organizational changes in DK's U.S. operations that will allow DK to take advantage of Penguin Putnam's existing infrastructure. As a result of the restructuring, Danny Gurr, president of DK U.S., has resigned.
Under the reorganization, DK's editorial departments with remain independent and will continue to report to Christopher Davis, publisher of DK in the U.K., but will also now have a secondary reporting relationship to Skip Fisher in the U.S. Fisher was recently named COO of DK U.S. and is serving as acting head of the division. He will oversee the implementation of DK's new structure, reporting to David Shanks, COO of Penguin.
DK will keep its own sales and marketing departments, but those units will now report to Dick Heffernan, president, director of sales, adult hardcover and children's books at Penguin Putnam. The division had reported to Gurr. DK will also begin to share some back-office functions with Penguin. DK's New York City employees will be moving from offices on Madison Avenue to Penguin's headquarters on Hudson Street. Approximately 90 people are expected to make the move, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of September.
Commenting about possible job cuts at DK, a Penguin spokesperson told PW, "In situations like this, where we have to improve performance, there are likely to be redundancies, but our mission is to grow the business, not shrink it."
