DK appoints Rebecca Smart as Managing Director, Publishing

DK has announced the appointment of Rebecca Smart to the new role of Managing Director, Publishing. Ian Hudson, DK CEO, said, “It is an incredibly exciting time for DK and Rebecca’s appointment is an important step for the company.”

Smart will join DK from Ebury, where she is currently Managing Director. For the last four years she has been responsible for launching imprints and brands, driving digital and online developments and delivering new publishing strategies.

A true publishing entrepreneur, Smart has a wealth of experience within the industry, most recently in the lifestyle, business and personal development genres and as part of the Penguin Random House UK Executive. She has worked with leading authors, has developed exciting new talent, and has consistently demonstrated exceptional creativity and motivational leadership.

Prior to Ebury, Smart was Managing Director of Osprey Publishing, where she achieved substantial business growth and led the acquisition and integration of a number of publishing houses across a range of non-fiction genres.

Hudson said, “Rebecca will join the DK Executive Board and play a key role in shaping our future strategy. With her mix of strategic leadership and commercial experience, combined with her vision, creativity and passion, she will lead the evolution of our global publishing and seek out new digital and business development opportunities.”

Tom Weldon, PRH UK CEO, said, “I have so enjoyed working with Rebecca over the last four years. She is both a very talented publisher and a real leader, driving forward cultural change. She hascontributed enormously not just to Ebury but PRH UK as a whole. I am sad she is leaving, but pleased nevertheless she is staying within the broader PRH group, and wish her much success and happiness at DK.”

Rebecca Smart said, “I have loved my time at Ebury and I’m so grateful to the team there, and to Tom Weldon for his support. I am looking forward to being part of the DK leadership team, and delighted to be joining the company at such an exciting time to help drive its new strategy”.

Smart will join DK in January 2019. Her successor as Ebury MD will be announced later in the autumn.