Pan Macmillan appoints Stuart Dwyer to new group sales director role

In this strategic new role, Dwyer will lead a unified global sales department, bringing together the company’s UK and Ireland, and International Sales teams. This move reflects Pan Macmillan’s commitment to a "one marketplace" approach, ensuring that its world class publishing reaches readers and listeners across every territory and in every format - physical, digital, and audio - with maximum impact.

The newly-created role replaces the positions of UK & Ireland Sales Director and International Director. Christine Jones, current UK & Ireland Sales Director will move into the newly-created role of Director of Business Development, which will include responsibility for Pan Macmillan India and Pan Macmillan South Africa, with current International Director Jonathan Atkins retiring at the end of March.

Since joining Pan Macmillan in 2006, Dwyer has worked in a variety of sales roles, building deep expertise and lasting relationships across all Pan Macmillan’s markets. He initially joined the company’s export sales team after building his experience across UK, export, and special sales at Rodale Books International and prior to that DK and Penguin. 

After joining Pan Macmillan, Dwyer spent six years working with international customers and with its sister companies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa before becoming UK sales director for Fiction, Picador and Mantle. Since June 2020 Dwyer has been UK Sales Director for Online and Supermarkets with divisional responsibility for Pan.  

Joanna Prior, CEO of Pan Macmillan, said: 'I am thrilled that Stuart is taking on this vital new role. He is a strong commercial leader who combines a sharp analytical mind with a genuine passion for the books we publish. As our markets become increasingly interconnected, having a unified global strategy is essential.

Stuart is perfectly qualified for this role, and his deep expertise and relationships in the UK and around the world - coupled with a curious approach to digital and new technologies - make him the ideal person to lead our sales teams into the future. I have every confidence in him and look forward to seeing the impact he will undoubtedly make.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Christine Jones for her exceptional leadership of the UK & Ireland sales team over the last six years, during which they consistently exceeded ambitious sales targets. We will continue to benefit from her immense expertise in the newly-created role of Business Development Director and she will also take on responsibility for our growing companies in India and South Africa.'

‘[Stuart] is a strong commercial leader who combines a sharp analytical mind with a genuine passion for the books we publish’

— Joanna Prior

Stuart Dwyer added: 'I’m truly honoured and excited to be leading the new Group Sales team. While the way people find and buy books is constantly shifting - and competition for attention has never been greater - nothing can replace the power of a great book. There is so much talent across our sales teams, and I can’t wait to work with them to push our reach further, and connect our authors and illustrators with a wider audience than ever before.'

Dwyer will join the Pan Macmillan Leadership Team and take up his new role on March 1.

‘While the way people find and buy books is constantly shifting — and competition for attention has never been greater — nothing can replace the power of a great book.’

— Stuart Dwyer