Bloomsbury Publishing founder moves to executive chair as seeks CEO

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC on Tuesday said it is putting place a five-year leadership succession process, whereby its founder will move to executive chair from chief executive and later to non-executive chair.

Nigel Newton, who founded the Harry Potter book publisher 40 years ago, moved to executive chair on Tuesday. Bloomsbury now will search for a new chief executive. Once that person has been in place for three years, in 2031, Newton will move to non-executive chair.

Shares in the London-based fiction and non-fiction book publisher were down 2.8% to 610.42 pence early Tuesday in London. The FTSE 250 stock is up 23% in the past 12 months.

John Bason will move to deputy chair from chair to make way for Newton. Bason also will be senior independent director and will lead the search for a new chief executive.

"The transition announced today represents the board of Bloomsbury proactively addressing succession planning," Bason said. "Nigel's continued leadership over the medium term will ensure continuity of Bloomsbury as a leading independent publisher."

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