Carolyn Reidy

Carolyn Reidy was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc. in January 2008. In this role she is responsible for all the publishing and operations of Simon & Schuster’s numerous publishing groups and divisions including the Simon & Schuster Publishing Group, the Scribner Publishing Group, the Gallery Books Publishing Group, the Atria Publishing Group, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. Under her leadership, Simon & Schuster has taken an industry leading position in bringing its works to consumers using new digital formats and distribution capabilities, including ebooks, enhanced ebooks and digital audio. Reidy has also led the company’s entry into several groundbreaking digital ventures with external partners, such as the 2012 launch of Archway Publishing, a self-publishing service provider, and in pioneering new business models and modes of book discovery. Reidy has also led the company’s expansion into new territories, with the founding in 2011 of Simon & Schuster India, while making numerous strategic moves that have added to its portfolio and insure its presence in every segment of the publishing marketplace. These publishing initiatives include the acquisition Howard Books, a Christian publishing company, Strebor Books, focusing on the African American market; and Beyond Words, which publishes books in the mind/body/spirit realm. In addition, Reidy oversaw the launch of Threshold Editions, which publishes for a conservative readership; Jeter Publishing, a co-publishing venture with Yankees legend Derek Jeter to publish both adult and children’s books; Saga Press in the science fiction and fantasy categories; North Star Way, which offers a new business model for nonfiction authors; Keywords Press, which publishes digital influencers and stars of YouTube; and Scout Press, a literary imprint. Reidy first joined Simon & Schuster in 1992 as President of the Trade Division, before being named President of the Adult Publishing Group in 2001. During her time with the company Simon & Schuster has published many acclaimed works, including books by Pulitzer Prize winners Anthony Doerr, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Frank McCourt, David McCullough and Siddhartha Mukherjee; notable books by world figures, celebrities, newsmakers, memoirists and journalists including Glenn Beck, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dick Cheney, Jaycee Dugard, Walter Isaacson, Mark R. Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Jeannette Walls and Bob Woodward; bestselling novelists Mary Higgins Clark, Vince Flynn, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Brad Thor and Jennifer Weiner; works of practical advice from authorities including David B. Agus, MD., Rhonda Byrne, Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, Dr. Mike Moreno and Tony Robbins; and bestselling children’s and teen authors including Cassandra Clare, Ian Falconer, Ellen Hopkins, Brandon Mull, Rachel Renee Russell and Scott Westerfeld. Numerous books published under her direction, including Walter Isaacson’s STEVE JOBS and Rhonda Byrne’s THE SECRET have gone on to become not just publishing phenomenon as multi-million copy bestsellers but also achieved status as thought-provoking, world-wide cultural events. Prior to Simon & Schuster, Reidy was President and Publisher of Avon Books, after having worked at William Morrow and Random House, where she was publisher of Vintage Books and Associate Publisher of the Random House imprint. Reidy is on the Boards of Directors of the Association of American Publishers and the National Book Foundation, and was previously a long serving board member of Literacy Partners. Reidy has been named one of “The 50 Women to Watch,” by the Wall Street Journal, and is a recipient of the Matrix Award from the New York Women in Communications. She is a graduate of Middlebury College, and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Indiana University, where in 2011 she was recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award. She resides in New York City, Long Island and Paris with her husband.