Andrea Fleck-Nisbet leaves IBPA to lead Quarto's US business
Andrea Fleck-Nisbet is leaving the top job at the Independent Book Publishers Association to run the United States business of The Quarto Group.
Quarto has named her president of its US division, Publishers Marketplace reported on 30 September 2026. She will lead all 27 of the group's North American imprints. An imprint is a publishing brand with its own name and list, operating inside a larger company.
The association signalled the departure first. Its board of directors announced on 25 September that Fleck-Nisbet would step down as chief executive to lead Quarto's US business, according to the IBPA announcement. That is the formal notice to members. Trade confirmation followed days later.
She had led the IBPA for four years, Shelf Awareness reported. The IBPA is a trade body for independent publishers, meaning houses that operate outside the five largest global groups. A chief executive in that world acts as advocate, administrator and public face. The job covers professional standards, education and services for member presses.
Quarto sits on the other side of that desk. It is an independent global publisher of illustrated books, Publishers Weekly reported. Illustrated books put pictures at the centre, from art instruction and craft to children's picture books and pop culture titles. Colour printing costs more than plain text, so publishers watch print runs, the number of copies printed at one time, with care. Independence here means Quarto itself is not owned by one of the big five.
Its North American operation is broad. The 27 imprints include Walter Foster, long associated with how-to art books, Epic Ink, focused on film, television and fan culture, and Frances Lincoln Children's Books. Each imprint keeps its own identity. The president oversees them together. Scale matters here. More imprints mean more retail categories, but each list must still earn its shelf space.
CK Lau is chief executive of the Quarto Group. The US president leads the American division within that wider structure. The title of president, in US publishing, usually means the senior executive responsible for a division or territory. It is a practical job.
What makes this stand out is the change of chair. One role represented many small publishers. The other runs the US arm of one sizeable one. For readers, the effect is behind the scenes. The names on the spines stay the same.
