The CEO of Macmillan 鈥� one of the Big Five book publishing houses 鈥� has announced he'll step back from day-to-day responsibilities, following an industry-wide day of action protest against racism organized by five Macmillan employees.
, John Sargent said: "It is clear that we have to change who occupies the seats at the table when the important decisions are being made."
Macmillan did not comment directly on the , during which publishing industry employees stopped work to spend the day protesting and fundraising for the black community. But the company said the change had been in the works for a long time.
Sargent remains in charge of the publisher's global businesses, but U.S. publishing 鈥� which includes imprints like Tor, Henry Holt, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux 鈥� will now be handled by a 13-person committee, which Sargent's statement says will be "a different and more inclusive management team, representing a wider range of experiences." In his letter, Sargent added that the company is "making sure we have diverse perspectives in the decision-making process."
Macmillan president Don Weisberg and COO Andrew Weber a series of internal promotions aimed at improving the process.
Macmillan was rocked earlier this year by , a novel about Mexican migrants written by a white author.
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