David Shelley is Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Book Group, home to seven publishing divisions – Basic Books Group; Grand Central Publishing Group; Hachette Audio; Little, Brown and Company; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Orbit; and Workman Running Press Group. He also serves as CEO of Hachette UK, the second largest UK publisher, with 12 autonomous divisions and over 50 imprints. He began his career in 1997 at Allison & Busby, an independent UK publishing house, and led the company from 2000 to 2005. He joined Little, Brown UK in 2005 as Editorial Director and became Publisher in 2011, publishing bestselling authors including Mitch Albom, Mark Billingham, Patricia Cornwell, Carl Hiaasen, Dennis Lehane, Val McDermid, and J.K Rowling. In 2015 he was named CEO of Orion and Little, Brown, and in 2018 was appointed Group CEO of Hachette UK. In 2024, Lagardère tapped David to oversee Hachette Book Group US as part of a new English-language management structure. Shelley’s leadership is defined by the company’s four strategic business pillars: Understanding Consumers, Changing the Story, Owner Mentality and Growth Mindset.
