Three years after Hachette Livre appointed David Shelley as head of a newly created English-language management structure, Shelley will give up that role January 1, 2027 to become executive chair of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group. He will also add a new role as global advisor to Hachette Livre’s CEO and deputy CEO, Arnaud Lagardère and Jean Christophe Thiery, respectively. In Shelley’s new post he will work on new markets, global synergies, and M&A, among other areas, according to an announcement from HBG.

Shelley, who had been splitting his time between New York City and London, was believed to have signed on for a three-year run in the newly created post and will move back to London.

His stepping away as HBG CEO will usher in a host of changes, topped by the appointment of Ben Sevier to CEO of HBG. Sevier joined HBG in 2017 and Shelley appointed Sevier president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing in 2024.

“My decade leading the spectacularly talented teams across the Grand Central Publishing Group has been equal parts exciting, challenging, and deeply rewarding, and I expect a super-charged version of all three in this next phase of our company and our industry,” Sevier said in a statement.

In addition to Sevier’s promotion, Richard Kitson, deputy CEO of Hachette UK and HBG, has been named president and chief operating officer for global English language at Hachette. Sevier and Kitson will continue to report to Shelley.

During his time at HBG, Shelley oversaw a reorganization of the publisher, which aimed to better align the publisher after a series of major acquisitions, including Workman Publishing. During Shelley’s three-year tenure, revenue at the publisher increase by 18%.

High-profile moves

His return to the U.K. will result in more changes at HBG, though none as extensive those he implemented early in his time at HBG. Topping the structural changes is the formation of a new HBG publishing program in Canada that will be overseen by Sally Kim, one of Shelley’s earliest hires as president and publisher of Little, Brown.

According to the announcement, the aim of the new program under Kim is to “discover and publish exciting Canadian writers” who will benefit from HBG’s international clout.

To replace Sevier, Christine Ball will join HBG in November as president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing, including overseeing the Hachette Nashville imprints. Ball was most recently the EVP and publisher of Penguin Random House’s Berkley imprint and has been with PRH for 20 years.

In a major promotion, Emily Meehan will be elevated to president and publisher of Union Square & Co. Meehan joined HBG after the company acquired Union Square in 2024. Along with Meehan’s promotion, Union Square will move from the Grand Central publishing group to the HBG publishing division. Both Meehan and Ball will join HBG’s executive management board.

“We have exceptional talent at HBG and with these moves we will continue to place our authors at the center of all we do and to help them find more readers for their work,” Shelley said in a prepared statement. “I believe under Ben’s peerless and author-focused leadership, our publishing will hit new heights. I am also excited about our move into the Canadian market led by Sally.”

The promotion of Kitson, Shelley continued, “will also allow us to become even more operationally aligned across the U.K. and the U.S. under Richard’s leadership and will help us further our growth plans for client sales and distribution services.”

In other corporate changes, Carrie Bloxson, chief people officer at HBG, has been named chief strategy and inclusion officer across both HBG and Hachette UK in addition to her existing role leading human resources, people, talent, and culture. Lisa Waterman, chief people officer at Hachette UK, will also gain more responsibilities, serving as a senior advisor to the U.S. HR team and working closely with Bloxson. Both women were key players in Shelley’s commitment to making HBG a more inclusive workplace even as some other companies eased up on those efforts.

Shelley’s new role also means a change at the top of Hachette UK, with Katie Espiner promoted to CEO and Charlie King to deputy CEO, effective January 1.

“We are delighted to work even more closely with David in his new roles,” said Arnaud Lagardère in a statement. “Bolstered by the exceptional success of our English-language divisions in recent years, we are counting on his key role to expand international collaboration across the Group, share our expertise, and develop new synergies that help achieve our ambitions for growth.”

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Union Square is a children's publisher. It publishes titles for all ages.