David Steinberger

David Steinberger
Born
New York, United States
Alma materColumbia University; Wharton School
Occupation(s)Businessman and publishing executive
Employer(s)National Book Foundation;
Open Road Integrated Media Inc.
SpouseDara Caponigro

David Steinberger is an American businessman, publishing executive, current Chairman of the National Book Foundation,[1] and Executive Chairman of Open Road Integrated Media Inc. His career has involved the acquisition,[2][3][4][5] management and sale[6][7] of a number of publishers and publishing-related companies as well as the application of digital technologies to publishing companies.[8][9][10][11] He was CEO of Arcadia Publishing[12] and CEO of the Perseus Books Group,[2] following leadership roles at HarperCollins.[13][14] In January 2021, Steinberger announced a succession plan at Arcadia, handing over day-to-day management to a successor and moving to Arcadia's board of directors.[15]

In December 2021, he led an investor group in the acquisition of Open Road Integrated Media inc., which utilizes data science technology to market eBooks, with Steinberger being named Executive Chairman, along with the role of CEO added in January 2022.[16]

Early life and education

[edit]

Steinberger was born in New York, United States, attended High School in Tenafly, New Jersey. He graduated from Columbia University's School of Engineering and earned an MBA from the Wharton School.[17]

Early career

[edit]

Steinberger's career began in New York City government where he rose to become Deputy Transportation Commissioner for Bridges.[13] According to The New York Times, Steinberger's willingness to speak openly about public safety concerns contributed to his departure from the position in 1991.[18] After City Government, he joined management consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton.[13] Steinberger wrote an opinion piece, published in The New York Times, about how to manage New York City government, entitled "Governing New York: Simplify, Simplify".[19]

Publishing career

[edit]

In 1996, Steinberger left Booz Allen Hamilton to join the publishing industry as President of the Adult Trade Group at HarperCollins Publishers, a Division of NewsCorp.[13][14] He became CEO of Perseus Books Group in 2004.[2] After Steinberger completed a series of acquisitions,[3][20][21] Perseus Books was named Publisher of the Year in 2007 by Publishers Weekly, which described the company as "arguably the most important independent publishing company in the nation".[22] Perseus Books launched digital initiatives that The New York Times described as providing "hundreds of small publishers easier access to digital book technology"[8][9][11][10][23] Titles published by Perseus included Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger,[24] as well as books by chess champion Garry Kasparov,[25] Nobel Physics Prize-winner Richard Feynman,[26] and Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee.[27] Steinberger sold Perseus Books in 2016 in two simultaneous transactions, to Hachette Books Group and Ingram Content Group,[28][6][7] after an earlier attempt at an exit transaction fell through.[29][30]

In 2018, Steinberger and lead investor Michael Lynton, chairman of Snap Inc., assembled an investor group to acquire independent publishing businesses, starting with Arcadia Publishing, where Steinberger became CEO.[12] The investor group includes Len Blavatnik,[12] Tony Ressler[12] and Walter Isaacson.[31] Arcadia, noted for its unique approach to publishing hyper-local titles[31][32] subsequently acquired Pelican Publishing,[4] Wildsam[33] and River Road Press.[5] In 2021, Steinberger announced a leadership succession plan at Arcadia, turning over day-to-day management to a successor and moving to Arcadia's board of directors.[15]

Steinberger is chairman of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards.[1] During his tenure, the National Book Foundation in 2016 appointed Lisa Lucas as executive director, the first Black person and the first woman in that role,[34] and launched Book Rich Environments, described by the LA Times as turning "book deserts into literary oases".[35] Steinberger is also a board member of the Fund for the City of New York.[36]

In December 2021, he led an investor group in the acquisition of Open Road Integrated Media inc., which utilizes data science technology to market eBooks, with Steinberger being named Executive Chairman, along with the role of CEO added in January 2022.[16][37]

In May 2023, Open Road launched Re-Discovery Lit, an imprint to publish books that had gone out of print or otherwise been reverted by publishers back to authors.[38] According to The New York Times, Re-Discovery Lit utilizes Open Road's "machine learning technology" to find readers for these republished works, which include books by authors such as Barbara Delinsky and Roger Angell.[39]

Personal life

[edit]

Steinberger is married to Dara Caponigro,[40] the creative director at F. Schumacher & Co., and former Editor-in-Chief at Veranda, Decoration Director at House Beautiful and Style Director at Domino.[41]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kaufman, Leslie (November 11, 2012). "Book Awards Seek a Bigger Splash, Red Carpet and All". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (October 25, 2004). "Buy ... and Buy Again". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Rich, Motoko (August 1, 2006). "Book Publisher Perseus Acquires Service Provider". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Arcadia Will Buy Pelican Publishing". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "River Road Press sold to South Carolina firm and combining its catalog with Pelican Publishing". NOLA.com. May 7, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Alter, Alexandra (March 1, 2016). "Hachette Reaches New Deal With Perseus Books". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (March 3, 2016). "Perseus Books Agrees to Sell Distribution Business to Ingram". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Bosman, Julie (September 3, 2008). "Small Book Publishers Offered New Technology". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (September 6, 2011). "Perseus Forms Digital-Services Venture in U.K." Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Book marketing's next chapter". Crain's New York Business. April 14, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Bosman, Julie (October 2, 2011). "New Service for Authors Seeking to Self-Publish E-Books". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (May 2, 2018). "Signs of Life in Book Publishing Draw Big Investors to Startup". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d Fried, Joseph P. (May 25, 2003). "Following Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Pogrebin, Robin (December 31, 1996). "HarperCollins Trade Unit Head Resigns in 'a Mutual Decision'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Steinberger, David (January 26, 2021). "Steinberger Steps Down, Phillips up as Arcadia CEO". Publishers Weekly.
  16. ^ a b Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (December 2, 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive | David Steinberger-Led Group Buys Ebook Publisher Open Road". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  17. ^ Trabing, Kent (August 15, 2011). "Helping the Independent Publisher". The Wharton Club of New York. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Opinion | The Bridge Time Bomb Remains". The New York Times. January 14, 1991. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  19. ^ Steinberger, David (January 18, 1992). "Governing New York: Simplify, SImplify". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  20. ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (January 22, 2007). "Small Publishers Look to Happy Ending". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "Small publisher enters big leagues". connection.ebscohost.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  22. ^ Milliot, Jim (December 3, 2007). "Publisher of the Year | Perseus Book Group". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  23. ^ Alter, Alexandra (January 5, 2015). "When Mark Zuckerberg Likes a Book, Sales Soar". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  24. ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (October 14, 2004). "'Friday Night Lights' Is Publisher's Big Game". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  25. ^ Lozada, Carlos (January 28, 2015). "Garry Kasparov on his next book — and why Putin is like Tywin Lannister". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  26. ^ Wyatt, Edward (April 7, 2005). "The Scientist Is Gone, but Not His Book Tour". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  27. ^ Bosman, Julie (September 16, 2011). "Unusual Benefactor Finances Book Tour". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  28. ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (September 9, 2015). "Perseus Books Hires Greenhill to Advise on Possible Sale". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  29. ^ Kaufman, Leslie (June 24, 2014). "Hachette Adds Heft to Combat Amazon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  30. ^ Alter, Alexandra (August 7, 2014). "Publisher Hachette's 3-Way Deal to Acquire Perseus Fails". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Charles, Ron. "In the age of distraction, one small publisher keeps local history alive in sepia tones". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  32. ^ Rooney, Kathleen (July 23, 2019). "Letter of Recommendation: Arcadia Publishing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  33. ^ Wappler, Margaret (August 28, 2019). "Move over Google. Travel publishers are teaming up for grittier city intel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  34. ^ Williams, John (February 10, 2016). "Lisa Lucas Named Executive Director of National Book Foundation". ArtsBeat. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  35. ^ Schaub, Michael (January 5, 2017). "A nationwide effort launches to turn 'book deserts' into literary oases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  36. ^ "[FCNY] Board Of Directors". www.fcny.org. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  37. ^ Milliot, Jim (December 2, 2021). "Investment Group Led by David Steinberger Buys Open Road". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  38. ^ Milliot, Jim (May 24, 2023). "Open Road Starts Imprint for Out-of-Print Books". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  39. ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (May 24, 2023). "Decades Old? No Problem: Publisher Makes a Bet on Aging Books". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  40. ^ "Dara Caponigro, Editor, Is Married". The New York Times. February 16, 1992. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  41. ^ "Schumacher's Creative Director Dara Caponigro Finds Professional and Personal Style Inspiration in the Past". Martha Stewart. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
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