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Martina O’Sullivan has been promoted from editorial director to publisher at Penguin Business as the imprint "thrives with a gender-balanced list" of authors.
O’Sullivan will continue to report into Venetia Butterfield, publisher for Penguin General.
The news comes almost six months after the division unveiled its new vision and team with a focus on a different approach to business and a more adventurous scope of authors and subjects than before. O'Sullivan was appointed to editorial director in 2017, while it was still known as Portfolio Books: a year later it was renamed Penguin Business.
Butterfield said of O'Sullivan's promotion: "Martina joined the team in September 2017 and with her terrific energy and huge positivity has overseen a highly successful re-branding, a reorganisation of the team and instigated a proactive and more focused acquisition strategy."
The team has expanded over the past year as the focus has changed. In addition to recent recruits—Matthew Crossey, senior campaigns manager, and Leo Donlan, communications assistant—Kayla Fuller has also joined the team as communications assistant working across both Penguin Life and Penguin Business.
The publisher said of the effect of its transformation: "One year on from its rebrand Penguin Business has boosted its growth with a 25% increase in sales in 2019 underpinned by a publishing programme committed to championing innovative ideas and a more diverse range of authors. Last year saw the publication of several bestselling titles including The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek, Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo and the FT Book of the Year-shortlisted The Man Who Solved the Market by Gregory Zuckerman.
"Highlights for 2020 will include the long anticipated Facebook by leading technology journalist Steven Levy, Leadership is Language by L David Marquet, How to go to Work by Lucy Clayton and Steve Haines, and How to be Strategic by Fred Pelard. The year has already started with a bang with The Squiggly Career by Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper hitting the Sunday Times Business Top Ten."
The team has aimed to look for a wider range of authors. Over the past two years, the editorial team (Martina O’Sullivan, Lydia Yadi and Celia Buzuk) have focused on acquiring "a more diverse range of authors to challenge the idea of what a business author looks like", the publisher said. This year Penguin Business will apparantly become the first business imprint to deliver a completely "gender-balanced frontlist".
It will also publish several books focused on "purpose, sustainability and ethical business" including Reimagining Capitalism (April) by Harvard professor Rebecca Henderson, billed as "a compelling account of why doing good is good for business" and Investing to Save the Planet (October) by FT journalist Alice Ross, which will show how backing companies fighting climate change can help make a difference and Accountable (August) by Michael O’Leary and Warren Valdmanis. The book is described as "an urgent call to action for everyone to use their power as consumers, investors, employees and voters to take back control of capitalism and hold corporations to account", Penguin Business said.