James Johnston Named Chief Financial Officer of Penguin Random House
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Dear Colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to announce that
James Johnston, one of our most trusted leaders, is named global Chief Financial Officer of Penguin Random House, effective today, reporting to me.
With 28 years of experience at our company, Jim has been a significant and valued contributor to the development and success of Random House and Penguin Random House. In his dual global and U.S. role as CFO, Jim will be responsible for strategic and operational finance, including analysis, planning, and reporting.
Jim Johnston. Photo credit: Michael Lionstar
Jim grew up professionally at our company, initially gaining financial publishing expertise at the Knopf Publishing Group, where he ultimately served as Director, Business Operations. Upon moving to the corporate Finance team, he held several leadership roles including, since 2015, Deputy CFO of Penguin Random House. Simply stated, Jim understands inside and out how our company ticks and works, and he consistently demonstrates a considered pragmatism, natural calm, and genuine enthusiasm for our publishing efforts. Through his astute analysis and insights, Jim plays a key role supporting our decisions regarding content acquisitions, sales, and publishing operations. Jim’s leadership on our Finance team and across the company has been characterized as solutions-minded, collaborative, and service-oriented. He is not only a dependable adviser to me and to our CEOs and CFOs around the world, but also to our publishers and business managers—and to our shareholders. I know all of us will continue to benefit from Jim’s expertise and partnership, and on a personal note, I am grateful to have such an experienced financial professional and devoted colleague by my side.
Continuing to work with Jim but now reporting directly to me is Manuel Sansigre, Vice President, Global Mergers and Acquisitions, Penguin Random House. Manuel and his team members Lev Polinsky and Cara Deedy have been closely collaborating with Jim and me, and our colleagues in Legal and Corporate Development, to identify and evaluate nonorganic growth opportunities—with many closed transactions in recent years a testament to their great work. As we look to the future, capitalizing on those M&A opportunities remains a central element to the implementation of our global growth strategy and a top priority for our company.
Jim’s appointment as Penguin Random House’s CFO today is particularly gratifying for so many of us who have worked with him over the years. On behalf of those colleagues and our shareholders, I sincerely congratulate Jim on his well-earned promotion and wish him the very best.
Yours,
Markus Dohle
Chief Executive Officer
Penguin Random House