Penguin UK Reduces Board From Eight to Four

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March 1-15, 2005 Edition

Penguin UK

Reduces Board

From Eight to Four

New York, NY/02/16/05—Penguin UK (whose parent company is Pearson, Plc.) has has restructured the management board which runs Penguin UK and DK, cutting the old eight-member panel down to an executive committee of four. John Makinson, chairman and CEO Penguin worldwide and now CEO of Penguin UK, said the change is designed to enable Penguin and DK to meet the many challenges ahead in publishing.

The four board members are Peter Bowron, sales and operations; Helen Fraser, responsible for all Penguin publishing; Brian Landers, finance director, and Andrew Welham. Welham is taking on a broader role as deputy managing director for Penguin UK, and will have responsibility for pre-school products and Rough Guides, as well as for legal and human resource operations, and Makinson. The four-member board will meet weekly to discuss policy.

Makinson is also searching for a new managing director and publisher of DK, to replace Andrew Welham as managing director, and publisher Christopher Davis, age 64, who is soon to retire.

Makinson said that “2005 is going to be an important year for all of us as Penguin celebrates its 70th birthday and DK continues to refine its publishing. I’m very sure that the creativity, determination and resilience that pulled us through a tough 2004 will ensure we prosper in 2005.”