Chip Gibson Steps Down as President and Publisher of Random House Children's Books; Barbara Marcus to Succeed Him

September 05, 2012

Please contact Stuart Applebaum with any questions, or for statements from Barbara and Chip. J-peg headshots also available.

MARKUS DOHLE
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF BERTELSMANN SE & CO. KGaA                                                                                                                               

September 5, 2012

Dear Random House Colleagues,

I share with you today the decision of a cherished colleague. CHIP GIBSON is stepping down as President and Publisher of Random House Children’s Books. BARBARA MARCUS, the highly accomplished Children’s book publishing veteran and former leader of Scholastic, will succeed Chip as President and Publisher of Random House Children’s Books, effective immediately.

In our company of remarkable careers, few have accomplished as much for as long and are as universally loved and respected as Chip is. In February, we celebrated his thirtieth Random House anniversary. Starting at Crown Publishing Group right out of college in 1982, he rose from inventory clerk to successively more senior sales, marketing, and publishing positions to become President and Publisher in 1996. Over his six-year tenure there, he raised Crown’s publishing profile and its profitability significantly. In 2002, Chip was asked to run our Children’s Books division.

The original plan was for Chip to head Children’s for just three years, but he stayed for ten because, as he has said, the books were so wonderful, the business so interesting, and the colleagues so delightful.  Together with his colleagues, Chip has transformed the workplace culture at Children’s and impacted young readers everywhere – not just with their beloved books but also with their genuine commitment to philanthropy and community service. With Children’s enjoying a successful 2012, and well set for the future, Chip feels he has accomplished almost everything he originally set out to do professionally.  Now, he wants to take an extended break from work.

Many of you know how special Chip is to me. We have talked a lot about the change he wants to make, and because I want the best for Chip, I have come to accept his decision.

Chip can proudly point to a company that substantially increased revenues and profits under his leadership, which has emphasized author and illustrator development, breakout sales andmarketing programs, and served as home to an incomparable roster of longstanding and emerging authors. In particular, the group’s efforts on behalf of Dr. Seuss, Christopher Paolini’s INHERITANCE cycle, THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak, THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE, and JUNIE B. JONES series, and most recently Lauren Kate’s FALLEN books have sold millions of print and digital editions.  In each of the last three years a Random House Children’s title has won either a Newbery or a Caldecott Medal, the highest honors in children’s literature. Chip and his team have grown the audience for the many distinguished franchises and world-famous licensed content they publish, while also launching new imprints, experimenting with new business models, and reinvigorating some of our great brands, including The Princeton Review and Prima Games. Their transition to digital is flourishing, with new content and products with enhanced digital functionality already available in the marketplace.  

In addition to the bestsellers, awards, and accolades, under Chip, Random House Children’s Books has become renowned throughout our industry as a wonderful place to have a publishing career, where you work really hard while having a really good time. The workplace culture of transparency, teamwork and achievement, coupled with a great sense of creativity and fun, is a model for all of Random House.  

Thank you, Chip, for your great partnership of thirty years with Random House. Your impact on our publishing, our culture, and our spirit is profound and permanent.

With Barbara Marcus assuming the leadership of Children’s from Chip we are going from strength to strength. Barbara is one of the most qualified, and sought-after, children’s books leaders in our industry, as revered for her publishing track record as she is for her great heart and team-building -- values that align with the Random House culture. And this is why Barbara agreed to join us and help shape the future of the world’s most special trade book publishing company.

Barbara’s chief responsibilities at Random House Children’s Books will be to continue to provide the overall publishing direction as well as to set the day-to-day and long-term operational and business strategy for the division. Her new role is something of a homecoming for her since her first job after college was with Bantam. In 1983, following her success in a variety of publishing positions, she joined Scholastic, Inc. as Vice President of Marketing and for the next twenty-two years, she set new standards of excellence in her field, rising to President of Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution.

At Scholastic, Barbara increased the publishing and distribution business from $120 million to more than $1.2 billion in revenues by building the company’s trade publishing, and establishing licensing and content partnerships. She greatly expanded the school-based book club, book fair, and direct-to-home continuity programs, growing Scholastic Book Clubs and Book Fairs to be the largest distributor of children's books delivered directly to schools. Her most celebrated trade success was directing the acquisition of all the Harry Potter titles and the publication efforts of the first six volumes in the series. Few publications have had the universal impact that these J.K. Rowling titles did. But even before the phenomenon of Harry Potter, Barbara and her team had introduced many distribution and marketing innovations that today are standard in book-publishing playbooks. In addition, such Scholastic hit series as The Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, The Magic School Bus, and I Spy, books by Cornelia Funke, and author/illustrators including Miss Spider's David Kirk, and Clifford the Big Red Dog's Norman Bridwell, among numerous others, greatly benefitted from her publishing savvy and dedication. 

Since leaving Scholastic in 2005, Barbara has been an in-demand consultant and strategic innovations advisor to international media companies including major book publishers. She has worked with companies to successfully transform their business models and financial strategies, digital publishing, and new business development.  In addition to her professional expertise as an inclusive business-builder, Barbara brings us a lifelong personal commitment to supporting charitable organizations for literacy, the welfare of children, and education. As a leader and as a mentor, she is the ideal person to carry forward the special culture at Children’s.

I am thrilled to have someone I have long and deeply admired as a new colleague and member of our worldwide Board. Please join me in welcoming Barbara to Random House, where she and her team will make a great publishing company even greater.