Greg Greeley, the chief executive of Simon & Schuster, has marked his first 100 days in the role with a public accounting of his early tenure, delivered on the monthly podcast "Open Book."

Greeley appeared on the programme — hosted by David Steinberger, CEO of Open Road Integrated Media, a digital-first publishing company — to discuss the transition into leading one of the largest trade publishers in the United States (Publishers Weekly).

Simon & Schuster, home to imprints including Scribner, Atria and Gallery Books, is a cornerstone of American trade publishing. The company was acquired by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company in 2024 after a regulatory battle scuttled an earlier proposed sale to Penguin Random House. Greeley stepped into the top job following that ownership change, arriving from outside traditional publishing — his prior career was at Amazon, where he held senior roles across the company's retail and international divisions.

The "Open Book" podcast, produced in connection with Open Road Integrated Media, features conversations with publishing-industry figures. Steinberger, a former CEO of Perseus Books Group, leads the discussions, which range across the business of books — from acquisitions to distribution.

Greeley's first-100-days appearance offered a rare public window into how a new chief executive is framing the early period of his tenure. The "first 100 days" is a borrowed political benchmark — a clock that starts the moment a leader takes office and is used in corporate America as a checkpoint for early priorities and public messaging.

For Simon & Schuster, the leadership transition comes at a moment of structural change in the wider industry. Publishing has been reshaped by consolidation, shifts in retail and the growth of audiobooks and digital formats. Greeley's perspective from outside the traditional publishing pipeline has drawn attention from trade observers watching for signals about how the house will position itself.

The conversation touched on Greeley's initial impressions of the company, his approach to the publishing catalogue and the strategic questions facing Simon & Schuster under its new ownership. As with any early-tenure interview, the remarks offered a leader's framing rather than a finished strategy. What remains is the substance that follows — the deals, the lists and the books that will define whether the first 100 days become the foundation of a longer chapter.