Coyne leaves PRH; Burland appointed CEO

Penguin Random House (PRH) Asia Pacific CEO Gabrielle Coyne has left the company, with Random House Australia (RHA) children’s division director Julie Burland appointed CEO of PRH Australia and New Zealand effective immediately.

Coyne began in Penguin’s marketing department in 1990 and was appointed marketing director in 2000 and Penguin Australia MD in 2003. In 2009 she was promoted to CEO of Penguin Group Asia Pacific before taking up the role of PRH CEO in 2013 following the merger of Penguin and Random House.

In a statement Coyne said: ‘I’ve had 25 extraordinary years at first Penguin and latterly at Penguin Random House and it has been a real privilege to work with some of the world’s greatest authors and publishers.’

PRH international (English language) CEO Ian Hudson said Coyne ‘has made a unique contribution to our business especially after taking over the Penguin leadership mantle from Peter Field in 2003’. ‘She has been an outstanding advocate of Penguin in Australia before expanding her influence to Penguin Random House APAC,’ said Hudson.

Burland has been director of RHA’s children’s division since 2010. She was previously director of the company’s business development department, which she helped to launch in 2007.

Hudson has welcomed Burland to the role, describing her as ‘a true entrepreneur’. ‘She is passionate about her business, her authors and their books, and her ambition to connect authors to their largest possible audiences has helped achieve record sales for, among many, Dan Brown, Christopher Paolini and brands such as MasterChef.’

PRH has also announced that former RHA managing director Margie Seale will return as PRH non-executive chair, after leaving the industry in 2012 for other positions, including non-executive director of Telstra.   

Category: Local news