Executive Biographies
Jon Anderson
President and Publisher
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Jon Anderson was named President and Publisher of the Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division in October 2013. Mr. Anderson joined the company as Executive Vice President and Publisher of the Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division in January 2009.
Mr. Anderson is responsible for the overall operations for the Children’s Division including editorial, design, production, publicity, marketing and licensing activities, while overseeing a publishing portfolio that serves every category of the children’s publishing business from toddlers to teens, while maintaining an extensive backlist that includes numerous Newbery, Caldecott and National Book Award winners. Recent award-winning titles include a 2020 Newbery Honor for GENESIS BEGINS AGAIN by Alicia D. Williams, a 2018 Newbery Honor for LONG WAY DOWN by Jason Reynolds, a 2017 Newbery Honor for FREEDOM OVER ME by Ashley Bryan, and the 2014 Caldecott Medal winner LOCOMOTIVE by Brian Floca. Best-selling titles and series include the #1 New York Times bestsellers SULWE by Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, FIVE FEET APART by Rachel Lippincott and Mikki Daughtry, the TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE trilogy by Jenny Han, the ARC OF THE SCYTHE trilogy by Neal Shusterman, THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series by Cassandra Clare, and the DORK DIARIES series by Rachel Renee Russell, as well as Caldecott Honor-winner CREEPY CARROTS! by Peter Brown and Aaron Reynolds, and its sequel CREEPY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR, and the multi-million-copy-selling OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper, as well as the modern LGBT classic ARISTOTLE & DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE WORLD by Benjamin Alire Saenz.
In addition, Mr. Anderson oversees the ongoing publication of numerous beloved high-profile continuing characters, franchcises and classics including ELOISE, OLIVIA, PEANUTS, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, NANCY DREW, THE HARDY BOYS, CHICKA, CHICKA, BOOM BOOM, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD DAY, among hundreds of other timeless children’s stories.
Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Mr. Anderson was the President and Publisher of Running Press Book Publishers, a division of Perseus Books Group. Before that, Mr. Anderson was at Penguin Putnam, Inc., where he was Vice President and Publisher of Price Stern Sloan and Penguin’s DreamWorks publishing program. Prior to Penguin, Mr. Anderson spent seventeen years at B. Dalton Booksellers/Barnes & Noble in positions ranging from sales clerk while in high school to head of the chain’s childrens’ buying division.
Mr. Anderson is an active member of the children’s book publishing community, and sits on the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship.
He is also the author of many children’s books under the pseudonym William Boniface, with cumulative sales of more than two million copies. He lives in Connecticut.
Jennifer Bergstrom
Executive Vice President and Publisher
Gallery Publishing Group
Jennifer Bergstrom was named Executive Vice President and Publisher of Gallery Books Group in 2025 after serving as the Senior Vice President and Publisher since August 2017. She is responsible for overseeing the various and varied imprints that comprise Gallery, including the flagship, Gallery Books; the literary imprint Scout Press; the conservative imprint Threshold Books; the mass-market publisher Pocket Books; and the Star Trek and HALO novel divisions, devoted to the beloved media franchises. Under Bergstrom’s direction, in 2021 the Gallery Books Group launched a new imprint, 13A, which publishes Black American voices in culture and politics.
Bergstrom began her publishing career at G.P. Putnam’s Sons in 1991. She joined Simon & Schuster in 1998 as the founding Editorial Director of Simon Spotlight. In 2009, she was appointed the founding Editor in Chief of Simon & Schuster’s newly formed Gallery Books Group, supervising its conception and implementation. She was named Vice President in 2013.
Gallery’s author list covers the American cultural landscape, from reality TV and YouTube stars to accomplished musicians, comedians, athletes, and opinion makers. In nonfiction, Bergstrom has published the bestselling memoirs of, among other notable figures, Britney Spears, Amy Schumer, Stanley Tucci, Tiffany Haddish, Chelsea Handler, Stephen A. Smith, Grace Jones, Jackie Chan, and Hunter Biden; New York Times bestsellers by Mike Rowe, Allie Brosh, America Ferrera, and Jamie Kern Lima; and #1 bestselling White House tell-alls by Omarosa Manigault Newman and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.
In fiction, Bergstrom has shepherded novels to print by a variety of New York Times bestselling authors, among them Ruth Ware, J. A. Jance, Catherine Coulter, Kristin Harmel, J. R. Ward, Christina Lauren, Anna Todd, Bill Clegg, Rebecca Roanhorse, Jackie Collins, Iain Reid, Jennifer McMahon, Stephen Graham Jones, Karen Hawkins, and Kristy Woodson Harvey.
Bergstrom holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Barnard College at Columbia University. She splits her time between New York City and New Jersey.
Judy Clain
Senior Vice President and Publisher
Summit Books
Judy Clain was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and immigrated to New York City in 1979. She started her career in the Rights Department at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. She spent a decade in the movie business as an agent at Triad Artists, selling film rights of books, and then as a production executive at Sony/Mandalay Entertainment. She joined Little, Brown and Company in 1998 and was named Editor-in-Chief in 2011. In addition to managing the editorial team, some of the books Judy edited at Little, Brown include I Am Malala by Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, Homeland Elegies by Pulitzer Prize-winning Ayad Akhtar, Going There by Katie Couric, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, Chaos by Tom O’Neill, When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin, and Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron. She also edited many bestselling novels, including Room by Emma Donoghue, Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elizabeth Robinson and The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand. Other writers she has published include Edna O’Brien, Andrew Sean Greer, Chigozie Obioma, Cherie Jones, Sarah Dunn, Jody Shields, Jake Tapper, Kevin Powers, Sarah Crossan, Kwame Alexander, and Sally Mann.
In January 2024, Judy joined Simon & Schuster as Senior Vice President and Publisher of the newly revived Summit Books imprint where she plans to build an internationally relevant list. Her forthcoming titles for Summit include books by the critically acclaimed authors Emma Donoghue, Ayad Akhtar, Peter Godwin, Daniel Kehlmann, Heather Rose, and Lauren Redniss, as well as memoirs by notable figures such as legendary actor Anthony Hopkins, former editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury Alexandra Pringle, McSweeney’s publisher Amanda Uhle, and Nobel Prize winner Nadia Murad. Judy has also acquired debut novels by filmmaker Mo Ogrodnik, Brooklyn based writer Katie Yee, and 21-year-old upcoming international literary star Nelio Biedermann.
Karen Cooper
Vice President and Publisher
Adams Media
Karen Cooper, Vice President and Publisher of Adams Media, joined Simon and Schuster in November of 2016, simultaneous with Simon & Schuster’s acquisition of Adams Media from F + W Publishing. In her position she has responsibility for overseeing the publishing activities of over 125 non-fiction titles yearly.
Adams Media is best known for publishing audience-driven, highly targeted, practical lifestyle content to support readers in everyday life. Adams Media is home to several bestselling titles in categories including cooking, health and wellness, self-help, witchcraft, astrology, personal finance, and parenting, among others.
Since joining Simon & Schuster, Ms. Cooper has enjoyed successful collaborations with various Paramount franchises, including Star Trek, Yellowstone, and Jane the Virgin, publishing the bestselling series tie-in novel, Snow Falling. Under her leadership, the bestselling Unofficial Cookbook series has expanded to include 12 titles with over 3 million copies in print. Additionally, she has overseen the expansion of product offerings to include top-selling gift formats such as coloring books, card decks, sticker books, journals, wall art, and more.
Prior to joining Adams Media, Ms. Cooper led the marketing efforts for Pearson’s digital fundraising vertical, Schoolcash.com.
Ms. Cooper began her career in the marketing department at Putnam & Grosset in New York, working with such legendary authors as Tomie dePaola, Peggy Rathmann, Eric Carle, Patricia Polacco, and her childhood favorite, Paula Daniziger.
Ms. Cooper studied at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst as well as The University of Seville in Spain. She lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband and their two children.
Dawn Davis
Senior Vice President and Publisher
37 INK
The Poets & Writers 2019 Editor of the Year, Dawn Davis is the founding publisher of 37 INK, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She has edited many prize-winning and New York Times bestselling books, including one of the 2023 New York Times’ 10 Best Books of the Year, Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo; The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan; Never Caught, a finalist for the National Book Award, by Erica Armstrong Dunbar; The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton; The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, by Issa Rae; Tough Love by Ambassador Susan Rice; I Can’t Make this Up by Kevin Hart, and various books by weight loss expert JJ Smith, including the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse.
In 2020, Davis was named Editor in Chief of the Condé Nast magazines, Bon Appétit and Epicurious. She returned to Simon & Schuster in 2023.
Prior to first joining Simon & Schuster, Davis was publisher of Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins, where she edited The Known World by Edward P. Jones, which won the Pulitzer Prize; Steve Harvey’s Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, which was one of the best-selling books of the decade; and The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner.
She lives in New York City.
Jofie Ferrari-Adler
Vice President and Publisher
Avid Reader Press
Jofie Ferrari-Adler was named Vice President and Publisher of Avid Reader Press, a standalone imprint of Simon & Schuster of which he was co-founder, in November 2018.
Under Mr. Ferrari-Adler’s leadership, Avid Reader released its first book, Lisa Taddeo’s #1 New York Times bestseller Three Women, in July 2019. In the four years since then the imprint has published more than twenty-five New York Times bestsellers, including Jeff Benedict’s LeBron, Andy Borowitz’s Profiles in Ignorance, Frank Bruni’s The Beauty of Dusk, Ray Dalio’s Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, Michaeleen Doucleff’s Hunt, Gather, Parent, Patricia Engel’s Infinite Country, Garrett M. Graff’s The Only Plane in the Sky, Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized, T. J. Newman’s Falling, Tunde Oyeneyin’s Speak, Alan Shipnuck’s Phil, Christie Tate’s Group, Chris Wallace’s Countdown 1945, and Billy Walters’s Gambler. In May 2023, two Avid Reader titles were named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize: Chloé Cooper Jones’s Easy Beauty and Garrett M. Graff’s Watergate.
In addition to the authors mentioned above, Avid Reader is the publishing home of many well-known, bestselling and award-winning writers including Michael Bamberger, Gregory Boyle, Adrienne Brodeur, Rinker Buck, Ian Caldwell, Tom Coyne, Lori Gottlieb, Emily Gould, Chip and Dan Heath, Adam Higginbotham, Susan Orlean, Matthew Quick, Michael Riedel, Brando Skyhorse, Andrew Sullivan, Gillian Tett, Lynn Vincent, and Eric Weiner, as well as emerging talents including Kaliane Bradley, Daniel José Camacho, Craig Fehrman, Haley Cohen Gilliland, Myriam Gurba, Antara Haldar, Julia May Jonas, Christina M. Li, Doug Westerbeke, and Yael van der Wouden.
Mr. Ferrari-Adler joined Simon & Schuster in 2010 as Senior Editor. Previously he worked at Grove Atlantic, Viking Penguin, and the independent publisher Four Walls Eight Windows, and before that as a bookseller. Raised in a small town south of Pittsburgh, he is a former golf professional, a contributing editor to Poets & Writers magazine (where he started the “Agents & Editors” series of conversations with publishing insiders), and he served for a decade on the Association of American Publishers’ International Freedom to Publish Committee.
Jonathan Karp
Publisher and Editorial Director
Simon Six
In the course of his publishing career, Jonathan Karp has edited over 200 books and published more than 1,000 titles. For Simon Six, he is acquiring, editing, and publishing approximately six titles per year.
From 2020 to 2026, he served as President and CEO of Simon & Schuster, leading the company’s numerous publishing groups as well as its international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Karp first joined Simon & Schuster in June 2010 as publisher of the company’s flagship imprint. Among the highlights of Mr. Karp’s years as publisher were the publication of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, What Happened by Hillary Clinton, Fear by Bob Woodward, Frederick Douglass by David Blight (winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in History), Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, In One Person by John Irving, The Library Book by Susan Orlean, Is This Anything by Jerry Seinfeld, and An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin. In 2020, three books published by Simon & Schuster played a significant role in the national conversation about the 2020 election: Rage by Bob Woodward, The Room Where It Happened by John Bolton, and Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump.
Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Mr. Karp was Publisher and Editor in Chief of Twelve, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, which he founded in 2005. At Twelve, Mr. Karp published numerous highly-acclaimed bestselling works, including True Compass by the late Edward M. Kennedy, God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley, Columbine by Dave Cullen, Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, and War by Sebastian Junger.
Prior to founding Twelve, Mr. Karp was Editor in Chief of Random House, where he began his publishing career in 1989 as an editorial assistant and worked for sixteen years. At Random House, Mr. Karp acquired and edited an eclectic and diverse list of bestselling fiction and nonfiction titles including Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson, Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley, Faith of My Fathers by John McCain and Mark Salter, Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham, The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, The Last Don by Mario Puzo and The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl.
Mr. Karp earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and his Master of Arts degree from New York University. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, The American Scholar, and The Washington Post and contributed a chapter to What Editors Do: The Art Craft & Business of Book Editing (The University of Chicago Press). He also wrote the book and lyrics to a musical, How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes, which premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival and had a brief Off-Broadway run.
Ben Loehnen
Vice President and Co-Publisher
Avid Reader Press
Ben Loehnen co-founded Avid Reader Press with Jofie-Ferrari-Adler in November 2018 and become Vice President and Co-Publisher in February 2024. He joined Simon & Schuster in 2010 as Senior Editor. Previously he worked at Random House and HarperCollins. A native of Montana and a graduate of Harvard College, he has served as co-chairperson of The Young Lions of The New York Public Library, as a member of the Literary and Historical Manuscripts Visiting Committee of The Morgan Library & Museum, and as a trustee of St. Paul’s School (Concord, NH).
He edits books across a range of subjects, including business, economics, psychology, science, religion, fiction, narrative nonfiction, and memoir. The authors with whom he has worked include: Andy Borowitz, Frank Bruni, James Lee Burke, Steve Case, Helen Castor, Robert Cialdini, Ross Douthat, Jesse Eisinger, Charles Fishman, Justin Fox, David Graeber, Jacob Hacker, Morten Hansen, Oona Hathaway, Chip and Dan Heath, Virginia Heffernan, Adam Higginbotham, A.J. Jacobs, Ezra Klein, Sarah Lewis, Alec MacGillis, Paul Pierson, Gerald Posner, Richard Rhodes, Michael Riedel, Jim Rogers, Christopher Ryan, Scott Shapiro, Dan Slater, Benn Steil, Andrew Sullivan, and Gillian Tett.
Marysue Rucci
Vice President and Publisher
Scribner
Marysue Rucci was appointed Publisher of Scribner in 2025. From 2021-2025, she was the VP, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of Marysue Rucci Books. Prior to that, she oversaw the fiction program at the Simon & Schuster imprint as VP, Editor-in-Chief for nine years. She acquires literary fiction, suspense fiction, and book club fiction, as well as memoir and narrative nonfiction. Over the years she has worked with a wide range of critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling authors including: Mona Awad, Bobbi Brown, Chris Cleave, Alice Elliott Dark, Laura Dave, Alice Hoffman, Jessica Knoll, Wally Lamb, Megan Miranda, Helen Phillips, Shonda Rhimes, Sarah Ruhl, Matthew Thomas, Rebecca Traister, and Paul Yoon.
Chris Lynch
President and Publisher
Simon & Schuster Audio
Chris Lynch was named President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio in October 2013. In his position, Mr. Lynch has overall responsibility for Simon & Schuster’s audio publishing business and its Pimsleur Language Program.
Mr. Lynch began his publishing career in 1989, when he joined the Simon & Schuster Audio Division as an Assistant Editor, and after a series of promotions was named Editorial Director in 1998, and Associate Publisher in 2001 and Executive Vice President and Publisher in 2003. During his time at Simon & Schuster Audio, he has shepherded audio’s transition to a digital-first business, greatly expanding the number of audio titles published as consumer interest in audiobooks has exploded.
He has published numerous Grammy and Audie Award winners and finalists including Anthony Doerr’s ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, Bruce Springsteen’s BORN TO RUN, Benjamin Alire Saenz’s ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DIVE INTO THE WATERS OF THE WORLD, Stephen King’s FAIRY TALE, Garrett Graff’s THE ONLY PLANE IN THE SKY, and Jason Reynolds’ STUNTBOY, IN THE MEANTIME.
Under his direction, Simon & Schuster Audio has published numerous bestselling original audiobooks from, Jimmy Carter, Stephen Graham Jones, Stephen King, William Kent Krueger, Christina Lauren, Julie Chen Moonves, J.R. Ward and Bob Woodward.
Mr. Lynch has overseen Pimsleur’s transformation to a direct-to-consumer, subscription-driven language learning business, expanding the number of languages it publishes and enhancing the learning experience by regularly adding new features to its Pimsleur app.
Mr. Lynch is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his family.
Sean Manning
Vice President and Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Sean Manning was named Publisher and Vice President of Simon & Schuster in September 2024. Manning joined Simon & Schuster in 2016 and was named Vice President, Executive Editor in 2022. During his tenure he has published multiple New York Times bestselling works by authors including Howard Stern, Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld, James Lee Burke, Sebastian Junger, Val Kilmer, Alex Trebek, and Jennette McCurdy, whose 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, became a publishing phenomenon, spending eighty-eight weeks on the bestseller list and selling more than three million copies across all formats. The runaway success of McCurdy’s memoir proved Manning’s ability to publish books that reach untapped readerships, particularly young people, and also demonstrated his commitment to publishing singular female voices, including bestsellers by Julia Fox, Anna Marie Tendler and Bethany Joy Lenz.
Manning is well regarded as an entrepreneurial editor with an eye for stories that capture the zeitgeist. He has routinely approached authors and worked with them to develop their books, including Stern, Trebek, legendary comedian Steven Wright (Harold), and photographer Beth Garrabrant (Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard). He oversaw the redesign and relaunch of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson’s catalog, commissioning new introductions by a varied and impressive group including Rachel Kushner, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Johnny Knoxville, Lars Ulrich, Sturgill Simpson, and Tim Heidecker. At Simon & Schuster, Manning’s acquisitions have exemplified the imprint’s dedication to publishing a wide range of books for a variety of readers, and have included not only memoirs but literary and commercial fiction, investigative journalism, politics, true crime, cultural criticism, music, photography, and humor.
Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Manning held roles at Popular Mechanics, helping it earn a National Magazine Award nomination in feature writing, and the United Airlines in-flight magazine Rhapsody, which the New York Times described as “the Paris Review of the air.” He holds an MFA in fiction writing from The New School; has contributed longform journalism to GQ, Esquire, Playboy, and The Village Voice; and is the editor of several nonfiction anthologies as well as author of the memoir The Things That Need Doing. He lives in New York.
Libby McGuire
Executive Vice President, Director of Adult U.S. Content Coordination
Publisher, Atria Publishing Group
Libby McGuire is Executive Vice President, Director of Adult U.S. Content Coordination
and Publisher of the Atria Publishing Group. She manages the business, editorial and publishing strategies of the many imprints of Atria, which include Atria Books, Atria Español, Black Privilege Publishing, Emily Bestler Books, One Signal Publishers, Simon Element, and Washington Square Press. Within these imprints, Libby oversees a wide range of authors including Colleen Hoover, Brad Thor, Lisa Jewell, Jack Carr, Maggie Smith, Rebecca Serle, Janet Evanovich, Brian Stelter, and Fredrik Backman.
Libby began her career as a marketing assistant at HarperCollins. In 1998 she joined Simon & Schuster as a national account salesperson, was named publisher of Ballantine Books in 2006, and remained there until 2015. She worked as a literary agent at The Gernert Company prior to rejoining Simon & Schuster in her current role in 2018.
Richard Rhorer
Vice President and Publisher, Simon Element
Richard Rhorer founded Simon Element, an imprint dedicated to books that provide information and advice on subjects foundational to daily life, in 2021. Since the imprint published its first book in 2022, the publishing team has launched multiple bestsellers across the prescriptive nonfiction and illustrated book categories. Notable, long-running hits include Tasting History by Max Miller, How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis, and The 5 Principles of Parenting by Aliza Pressman. Simon Element cookbooks have been finalists for the James Beard Award and won the IACP Award.
In 2023, Mr. Rhorer announced the launch of Simon Acumen, an imprint dedicated to business books. The imprint will begin publishing titles in 2025.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Rhorer served as deputy publisher of Simon & Schuster for a decade. During this time, he orchestrated publication strategies and marketing campaigns for numerous bestselling books including modern classics like Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty, and Contagious by Jonah Berger.
Prior to his time at Simon & Schuster, Mr. Rhorer held a series of sales, marketing and digital business development positions at HarperCollins and Macmillan.
Mr. Rhorer holds a BA degree from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He lives in New York City.
Wibke Grutjen
Senior Vice President, Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Wibke Grutjen joined Simon & Schuster in 2024 as Senior Vice President, Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer.
Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Ms. Grutjen served as Chief Marketing Officer at Hachette Book Group from 2019 to 2024. Ms. Grutjen started her career in the United Kingdom as an Editor of ARTbibliographies Modern in Oxford, England. After moving to the United States in 2003, she worked in television production, developing documentaries and news for networks including WETA, ABC News, and The History Channel. In 2007, she joined Penguin UK as Head of Business Information, and in 2010, after a return to the US, joined Macmillan Publishers. At Macmillan, she was initially responsible for marketing analytics, quickly rising to take on the leadership of the central digital marketing team.
Ms. Grutjen holds Masters degrees from Oxford University and the Free University of Berlin. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.
Veronica Jordan
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Veronica Jordan was named Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Simon & Schuster, Inc., in 2019. She oversees the company’s legal affairs and leads a legal team responsible for all aspects of Simon & Schuster’s legal policies and strategies around the world.
Since first joining Simon & Schuster in 1995, Ms. Jordan has provided counsel on myriad ground-breaking projects, from the launch of the company’s initial website in 1998 to playing a key role in the success of the company’s ventures into digital publishing, e-commerce and new business models for creating, marketing and distributing digital content. She shepherded Simon & Schuster’s earliest forays and most recent advances in e-commerce, including the launch of its Pimsleur Language Program’s subscription service, and has been its in-house legal expert and advisor on the complex and ever-evolving privacy landscape.
Before joining Simon & Schuster, Ms. Jordan practiced corporate law at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Upon receiving her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, Ms. Jordan clerked for the Honorable Stanley S. Brotman, U.S. District Court (U.S. Virgin Islands).
Passionate about education and the empowerment of girls from disenfranchised communities, Ms. Jordan served on the Board of Directors of the non-profit organizations, Girl Be Heard and The Ruth Turner Fund. She has enjoyed speaking publicly on a range of diversity issues. Ms. Jordan has served on CBS Corporation’s legal department diversity committee and its privacy committee. She currently serves on the Copyright Law and Policy Committee of the Association of American Publishers, is a member of the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and Corporate Counsel Women of Color. She is CIPP/US certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Ms. Jordan is a graduate of Amherst College. She resides in Manhattan.
Allen Lindstrom
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Allen Lindstrom joined Simon & Schuster as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in April 2024.
Allen joined after sixteen years at Barnes & Noble, the past eleven of which as Chief Financial Officer under both public and private equity ownership. He served on B&N’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee and was Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer prior to becoming CFO. Before B&N, Allen was CFO of Liberty Travel, and held financial roles at the Museum Company, Toys “R” Us and Adidas after starting his career in public accounting.
Allen is a graduate of Rutgers Business School, a Certified Public Accountant, and lives in New Jersey with his wife and twin daughters.
Julie Neimat
Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
Julie Neimat joined Simon & Schuster in September 2024 as Chief Human Resources Officer.
Ms. Neimat spent the majority of her career in HR roles in the media and tech industries most recently as EVP, Talent and Culture at Warner Bros. Discovery where she was responsible for the design and implementation of programs and services that support the company’s diverse global workforce including recruitment, learning, people analytics, wellness, internal communications, employee engagement, and operational effectiveness. She joined Discovery when it was a growing cable company and has worked in various capacities since 2004, including Operations, Commerce, Legal, IT, Distribution, Ad Sales, Creative groups, and Digital Media.
Earlier in her career, she led HR and Operations at Wind-Up Entertainment, an indie record label and music publishing company. She also served as an HR Business Partner for DoubleClick (since acquired by Google) and spent several years as a researcher and recruiter.
Ms. Neimat lives in Connecticut with her kids, hounds and partner who inspire most everything she does. To fuel her inner artist she writes fiction, paints, reads as much as possible and makes a ridiculous amount of mixtapes.
Kim Shannon
Senior Vice President, Sales
Kim Shannon joined Simon & Schuster in 2024 as Senior Vice President, Sales. She is responsible for sales in all channels including national accounts, digital and online sales, independents, mass merchants, wholesalers, educational and special markets accounts.
Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Ms. Shannon was Executive Vice President, Adult Retail & Education Sales and Director of Sales Strategy, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Penguin Random House. She oversaw sales to chain and independent bookstores, educational accounts, national accounts for the company’s distribution client publishers and overall sales for the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. She held a variety of sales and management roles at Penguin Random House and was previously Director, National Accounts, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing from 2007-2008. She began her career in the Special Markets and Online Sales departments at Workman Publishing.
Ms. Shannon holds a degree in Government and History from the University of Notre Dame. She lives on Long Island with her family.
Perminder Mann
Chief Executive Officer
Simon & Schuster UK & International
Perminder Mann was named Chief Executive, Simon & Schuster UK and International in May 2025. In this position, Mann has full responsibility for the publishing, editorial, marketing and sales functions of Simon & Schuster UK, publishing a full range of adult, children’s and audio titles in both printed and digital formats. Mann also holds overall responsibility for Simon & Schuster Australia and Simon & Schuster India.
Born and raised in Southall, West London, to first-generation Indian immigrant parents, Mann is the eldest of eight siblings. Her early exposure to literature came through frequent visits to the local library, fostering a deep love for reading. At 13, she was featured in the BBC documentary Life of an Asian Girl, highlighting her early engagement with media.
Mann pursued a degree in theatre and media at De Montfort University. Although she initially aspired to work in television, financial constraints led her to a sales role at Macmillan Publishing, where she discovered her passion for the publishing industry. Her career spans positions at major publishers like Macmillan and Transworld, as well as independent houses such as Hinkler and Phidal Publishing. In 2009, she joined Bonnier Publishing, later rebranded as Bonnier Books UK.
In 2014, Mann co-founded Blink Publishing, an imprint notable for pioneering collaborations with digital influencers, including the bestselling The Pointless Book by Alfie Deyes. Her innovative approach continued as she became CEO of Bonnier Books UK in 2017, leading the company to significant growth and a reputation for embracing digital trends and inclusive practices.
A seasoned publisher with a track record of commercial and critical success, Mann’s achievements include publishing the multi-million-copy global bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz and successfully launching the careers of numerous debut authors, including Stacey Halls and Christy Lefteri. She has also been instrumental in building the careers of Sunday Times bestselling crime writer T.M. Logan and Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction author Donna Ashworth.
Mann's contributions extend beyond corporate achievements. She serves as President of the Publishers Association, Chair of the board of trustees for Arts Emergency—a mentoring charity—and holds an honorary visiting professorship at City, University of London, where she mentors aspiring publishing professionals.
Her accolades include being listed among the UK's most powerful leaders by The Guardian and Operation Black Vote, and featuring annually in The Bookseller's list of the 150 most influential people in publishing.
Perminder Mann's journey from a young girl in West London to a trailblazing leader in global publishing exemplifies her dedication to storytelling, diversity, and transformative leadership in the literary world.
Jane Curry
Managing Director
Simon & Schuster Australia and New Zealand
Jane Curry has held executive leadership roles at Quarto ANZ, Macmillan and Weldon Publishing. She is a highly experienced publishing executive with a long history of effective leadership, strategic thinking, and successful delivery of global initiatives.
Curry has served on the boards of the Copyright Agency, A New Approach, the Brisbane Writers Festival and the Australian Publishers Association. She also co-hosts The Publisher and the Writer podcast and is a regular industry commentator in trade media.
Sanjiv Gupta
Managing Director
Simon & Schuster India
Sanjiv Gupta is a Charted Accountant, with industry experience of over three decades.
He joined S&S India from Penguin Random House India & MENA, where he was a Director and Chief Operating Officer India and MENA. He has worked in a spectrum of industries viz.: automobiles, aerospace, electronics, business process outsourcing, agriculture, real estate fund and now book publishing.
Sanjiv has a strong track record of consistently delivering sustainable growth through organic as well as inorganic means. Has extensive experience in strategy, leadership, finance, operations and M&A.
Before joining Simon & Schuster India, Sanjiv worked with Penguin Random House India, Masonite Doors, Hines India, Bharti Group, Honeywell International, Allied Signal, Honda Cars, and DCM Shriram Industries in various capacities.
Sanjiv lives in New Delhi with his wife and two children, his ancestral home is in Dehra Dun.
Geneviève Waldmann
CEO
VBK
Geneviève Waldmann has been the CEO of Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) Publishers since 2018 and was the managing director of several of its daughter companies (Luitingh-Sijthoff, De Fontein, Kosmos) in the period between 2009 and 2018. She has a long history of being active in the Dutch publishing world. Waldmann started as a publisher at Unieboek Publishers in 1990 and the was subsequently active in several functions at The House of Books/ECI (part of Bertelsmann), finally as managing director. She has been active as president of CPNB (Collective Propaganda for the Dutch Book) and is presently chairman of the Groep Algemene Uitgevers GAU (Dutch Publishers Association) and board member of the Dutch Media Federation. She founded Merkelbach Genootschap, a society for women in Dutch book business and was the first chairman for ten years. Besides, she is ambassador of International PEN. Waldmann studied Art History at Utrecht University and started her career at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Nicole Winstanley
President and Publisher
Simon & Schuster Canada
Nicole Winstanley (she/her) is the President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Canada, a global leader in general interest publishing, where she oversees all publishing and operations across Canada. Award-winning and bestselling authors she’s acquired since joining include Mona Awad, Saeed Teebi, Arundhati Roy, Catherine Leroux, Bonnie Garmus, Clara Hughes, Liz Nugent, Jessica J. Lee, and Ece Temelkuran. Prior to her appointment, Nicole served as Publisher of Penguin Canada and Vice President of Penguin Random House Canada, where she published a strong list of Canadian books and authors, including Run Towards the Danger by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Sarah Polley, The Strangers by the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize winner katherena vermette, The Maid, the unstoppable international bestseller by Nita Prose, “Good Morning America” pick The Push by Ashley Audrain, and numerous works by international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay. She also published internationally celebrated talents, including Zadie Smith, Khaled Hosseini, NoViolet Bulawayo, Sarah Winman, Helen Oyeyemi, Stieg Larsson, Deborah Levy, John le Carré, Aleksandar Hemon, and Ali Smith. Nicole was named the 2024 Ivy Award recipient, in recognition of her substantial and important contributions to Canadian publishing.