Hachette hands David Shelley its English-language empire
David Shelley will take charge of Hachette's English-language publishing on both sides of the Atlantic from January 1, 2027.
Hachette announced on September 29 that Shelley will become Executive Chair of Hachette U.K. and Hachette Book Group, the American publishing operation, according to Publishing Perspectives. An Executive Chair sits above the day-to-day chief executives and sets strategy. He will start in the post on January 1, 2027.
Shelley will also serve as global adviser to Hachette Livre chief executive Arnaud Lagardère and deputy chief executive Jean-Christophe Thiery. His brief covers new markets, global synergies and M&A, meaning mergers and acquisitions or the buying of other publishers, among other topics. Lagardère is chairman and chief executive of Hachette Livre, the French parent company.
He will move back to the U.K. His time will be split between Hachette offices in London, New York, Madrid and Paris. Since 2024 he has divided his working life between New York and London.
The promotion settles who runs the two biggest English-language units. Ben Sevier has been named chief executive of Hachette Book Group, while Katie Espiner has been promoted to chief executive of Hachette UK, with Charlie King named deputy chief executive there, according to Publishers Weekly. Hachette Book Group is home to seven publishing divisions, including Basic Books Group and Grand Central.
Shelley knows both businesses well. He previously led the Little, Brown Book Group and Orion before becoming chief executive of Hachette U.K. effective January 1, 2018. He added the U.S.-based Hachette Book Group to his portfolio in 2024 under an English-language management structure and took the American chief executive role effective January 1, 2024. Michael Pietsch moved to chairman at that point.
That transatlantic run coincided with growth in the United States. Hachette officials said Hachette Book Group delivered an 18% increase in revenues from 2023 to 2025. The group leapfrogged Simon & Schuster to reclaim third place among the Big Five, the five largest trade publishers in the U.S., for the first time in 12 years.
Another lieutenant is also gaining ground. Sally Kim, president and publisher of Little, Brown and Company, will see her role expand substantially with a new Hachette publishing programme in Canada. The plan is to publish Canadian writers with bespoke local publication backed by Hachette's global power. Kim was Shelley's first major leadership appointment when he took over Hachette Book Group in 2024, joining from Penguin Random House.
For readers, this means continuity at the top rather than a change of direction. The same leader keeps oversight of London and New York. New faces handle the daily running.
