At the start of 2014 Jim Becker stepped down as president of becker & meyer!, the book packager he founded more than 30 years with Andy Meyer, and was succeeded by Mike Oprins who had been COO of the company. Becker is moving into the new role of creative director of SmartLab, becker & meyer!’s educational toy division which Becker also founded.
Since its launch, becker & meyer! has created what it termed “thousands” of nonfiction books for a wide range of publishers. The packager was acquired in 2005 by the McEvoy Group whose other holdings include Chronicle Books.
“becker&mayer! continues to be recognized as an innovative market leader in both the Adult and Children’s packaging world, and the SmartLab Toys division continues to grow at a rapid pace both here and abroad,” says Jack Jensen, president of The McEvoy Group. “We are thrilled that founder Jim Becker will continue to be an important contributor to our ongoing success, and in Mike Oprins we have an exceptional leader with the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to bring continued success to both divisions.”
