You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
The agenting community has welcomed Penguin's promotion of Tom Weldon to deputy c.e.o at the end of this year, and ultimately to the top job at the end of 2010. "I couldn't be more positive, "Jonathan Lloyd, chief executive of Curtis Brown, told The Bookseller. Simon Trewin, head of books at United Agents, added: "He will be a sensational c.e.o. He will bring a real publishing perspective with him because he knows all about the authors. But he is also really tough - he won't be a pushover when dealing with the trade."
Describing Weldon as "the student prince", Lloyd said: "He has been the heir apparent for a number of years. . . Tom has been trained and worked under very good people, and is well regarded and respected by staff - it is very important that he has that loyalty and support." Lloyd said the ensuing redundancies, affecting 100 jobs, would be "a bit unsettling". But he added: "He is a good collegiate boss, and not afraid of making tough decisions. He's certainly no push-over, and is a man I enjoy doing business with."
Trewin applauded Weldon for tackling problems head on, highlighting his response to the publisher's "cataclysmic" move to an automated warehouse system in 2004. "He gave us one of the most honest and open-handed apologies I've ever heard - in a culture where it's all bullshit and passing the buck, here was someone saying 'We screwed up, what can we do to make things better?'," said Trewin. "The feeling he engendered in that half an hour I have remembered ever since."
Clare Alexander, joint m.d, at Aitken Alexander Associates, said: "I think it's a credit to Helen Fraser's inspirational leadership at Penguin that she will be able to leave it in such safe hands. Tom has been the architect of much of Penguin's current success, alongside others such as Stefan McGrath and Louise Moore." But, she added: "As someone approaching 60 myself, I am a little daunted by the age at which Helen has decided to stop - I think she has many good and creative years left in her."
Lloyd also lamented the loss of Fraser, adding: "It's great to retire with honour, though - and unusual these days."