Susan Reich to Head PGW
By Bridget Kinsella -- Publishers Weekly, 5/23/2007 7:57:00 AM
Susan Reich has been named president of Publishers Group West, where she rose to the position of v-p, marketing, before leaving and eventually becoming president and COO of the Avalon Publishing Group, one of PGW’s biggest clients.
"Susan’s knowledge of PGW and of what is important in a relationship between an independent publisher and its distributor is both broad and deep," said Joe Mangan, COO of Perseus, in a memo sent to employees this morning announcing Reich’s appointment, which is effective July 30. Perseus and Reich had been in discussions about the position for about a month. "It seemed to us and to Susan that this seemed like such a fit that none of us could fight the logic of it," said Mangan. "Her career really leads to this role." Reich will report to Mangan.
In a related matter, CEO David Steinberger said that Perseus was in negotiations with AMS to obtain permanent rights to the name PGW. "Our goal is very much to reconnect with PGW’s history and tradition," said Steinberger. "It seems like Susan is in the best position to realize that." Before working in the independent press world, Reich had 15 years working for major publishers and was a bookseller in her early career. When Perseus acquired Avalon in January, Reich announced that she would leave the company at the end of June. "This is absolutely a homecoming, because I get to work with an incredible group of people, most of whom I have known for a long time at PGW."After the tumult of the past few months with the bankruptcy of AMS, Steinberger said Reich coming in as president would help the company reconnect with the PGW clients it distributes. "The most critical part of Susan’s role is making sure the service we provide to the clients is outstanding," said Steinberger. He said helping clients grow and adding clients to the PGW stable are other areas Reich will concentrate on as company president.
August 1 marks the end of the transition agreement Perseus has with AMS, so Perseus is now looking for new office space for both PGW and Avalon. Steinberger said both companies will stay in the East Bay area near San Francisco and may or may not be joined in one location. There are 50 PGW employees and 45 Avalon employees in the East Bay offices. Rich Freese, PGW’s current president, will work with Reich throughout the transition.
