Hachette Book Group’s CIO, Mike Ballanco, retires

HACHETTE UK’S BRENDAN GOSS STEPS UP TO GROUP CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER ROLE

10 July 2024 – Hachette Book Group announces the retirement of Mike Ballanco, SVP & Chief Information Officer.

Ballanco joined HBG nine years ago and, in that time, developed a strong IT relationship with the business and launched a strategic IT Transformation program, replacing 85% of HBG’s legacy applications with a new portfolio of integrated systems.

Brendan Goss, Hachette UK’s CIO, will step up to lead the IT teams in the UK and US in the newly created role of Group Chief Information Officer. Effective 1 September, Brendan will continue to report to Richard Kitson, Deputy CEO of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group, and will work closely with Mike to ensure a seamless transition to a new Group IT structure.

Richard Kitson, Deputy CEO Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group, said: “I’ve only had the pleasure of working with Mike since January, but I want to personally thank him for all his hard work and commitment to Hachette Book Group’s IT development. I’d also like to thank him for being so personally warm and welcoming to me and for getting me up to speed with everything that he and his team are working on. His leadership of our IT team has resulted in a fantastic portfolio of integrated systems that benefit our publishers and wider business. I wish him every happiness as he embarks on his new adventures. I am pleased to welcome Brendan into this new combined role, giving both the UK and the US the opportunity to benefit from his wide-ranging experience, his expertise in communicating complex IT issues, and determination to deliver outstanding and cost-effective IT support and systems.”

Ballanco’s career includes 11 years in the music industry as CIO for EMI Music North America and Warner Music Group. He said: “It was a privilege to cap off my 43-year IT career at HBG. From my first assignment integrating the Perseus Book Group to the soon-to-be-launched Oracle Order-to-Cash system, I am immensely proud to have led the IT team into the centre of HBG’s business operations, improving data integrity across our IT systems.”

Goss has been with Hachette UK since 2018, first as the Project Director for the commissioning of the Hely Hutchinson Centre, then in 2019 he joined the IT division as the IT Director for Distribution and Finance and has been the CIO for Hachette in the UK since 2022. With a career including roles at GlaxoSmithKline, B&Q, Sainsbury’s, Next, and Philip Morris, he has brought a breadth of multi- industry experience in leadership positions prior to his time at Hachette.

Goss said: “I am honoured to be taking on the responsibility of leading our combined teams across the US and UK and I look forward to continuing the excellent work which Mike has undertaken in Hachette Book Group US. Since joining Hachette UK I have been inspired by the desire and willingness to embrace continual and transformative change, driven by our mission to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity. Harnessing the amazing talent across both HBGUS and HUK will help us realise ever more ambitious goals.”

As a result of this new combined role, there are additional promotions in both the UK and the US. In the US HBG’s Chief Technology Officer, Puneet Kukkal, steps up to the role of SVP and CIO, HBG and in the UK, Rob Forster, IT Director, steps up to the role of CIO, HUK. Kukkal currently oversees the entire HBG business systems portfolio and, before joining HBG in 2016 he gained experience delivering enterprise software and systems to Fortune 1000 companies through executive roles at CA Technologies and Intel Corporation. In this new role, Kukkal brings an entrepreneurial mindset with a commitment to delivering value that positively impacts our business, clients, and consumers. Forster joined HUK in 2023 after holding diverse IT roles at IBM, Kingfisher, Estee Lauder, Gousto, and, most recently, Milk & More. Since then, he has been instrumental in setting strategy in several areas of Publishing Systems and setting up HUK IT’s first apprenticeship scheme in association with Northeastern University.

Mike Ballanco’s last day with HBG will be September 27, 2024.