David Steinberger is an American businessman, publishing executive, current Chairman of the

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

, and Executive Chairman of Open Road Integrated Media Inc. His career has involved the acquisition, management and sale of a number of publishers and publishing-related companies as well as the application of digital technologies to publishing companies. He previously served as CEO of

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

and CEO of the

Perseus Books Group Perseus Books Group was an American publishing company founded in 1996 by investor Frank Pearl. Perseus acquired the trade publishing division of Addison-Wesley (including the Merloyd Lawrence imprint) in 1997. It was named Publisher of the Ye ...

, following leadership roles at

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. In January 2021 he announced a succession plan at Arcadia, handing over day-to-day management to a successor and moving to Arcadia's board of directors. In December 2021, Steinberger 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 to be added in January 2022.

Early life and education

Steinberger was born in New York, attended High School in Tenafly N.J. He graduated from Columbia University's School of Engineering and earned an MBA from the Wharton School.

Early career

Steinberger's career began in New York City government where he rose to become Deputy Transportation Commissioner for Bridges. 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. After City Government, Steinberger joined management consultancy

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...

Publishing career

In 1996 Steinberger left Booz Allen Hamilton to join the publishing industry as President of the Adult Trade Group at

Publishers, a Division of NewsCorp. Steinberger became CEO of

in 2004. After Steinberger completed a series of acquisitions, 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."

Perseus Books Perseus Books Group was an American publishing company founded in 1996 by investor Frank Pearl. Perseus acquired the trade publishing division of Addison-Wesley (including the Merloyd Lawrence imprint) in 1997. It was named Publisher of the Ye ...

launched digital initiatives which the New York Times described as providing "hundreds of small publishers easier access to digital book technology" Books published by Perseus included Friday Night Lights by

Buzz Bissinger Harry Gerard Bissinger III, also known as Buzz Bissinger and H. G. Bissinger (born November 1, 1954) is an American journalist and author, best known for his 1990 non-fiction book '' Friday Night Lights''. He is a longtime contributing editor at ...

, as well as books by chess champion

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

, Nobel Physics Prize-winner

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...

, and Nobel Peace Prize winner

Leymah Gbowee Leymah Roberta Gbowee (born 1 February 1972) is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women's nonviolent peace movement, Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Her ef ...

. Steinberger sold Perseus Books in 2016 in 2 simultaneous transactions, to

Hachette Books Group Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hache ...

and

Ingram Content Group Ingram Content Group is an American service provider to the book publishing industry, based in La Vergne, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Ingram Industries. Shawn Morin is CEO, and John R. Ingram is chairman of Ingram Industries. History The ...

, after an earlier attempt at an exit transaction fell through. In 2018, Steinberger and lead investor

Michael Lynton Michael Mark Lynton (born January 1, 1960) is a businessman and current chairman of Snap Inc. He previously served as chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In 2017, Lynton stepped down as CEO of Sony Entertainment to becom ...

, chairman of Snap Inc., assembled an investor group to acquire independent publishing businesses, starting with

where Steinberger became CEO. The investor group includes

Len Blavatnik Sir Leonard Valentinovich Blavatnik, russian: Леонид Валентинович Блаватник, Leonid Valentinovich Blavatnik (born June 14, 1957) is a Ukraine-born American-British business magnate and philanthropist. As of March 202 ...

Tony Ressler Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

and

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, ...

. Arcadia, noted for its unique approach to publishing hyper-local titles subsequently acquired

Pelican Publishing Pelican Publishing Company is a book publisher based in Gretna, a suburb of New Orleans. Formed in 1926, Pelican is the largest independent trade book publisher located in the U.S. South. Pelican publishes approximately 60 titles per year and ...

, Wildsam and River Road Press. 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. Steinberger is chairman of the

, presenter of the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

s. 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 and launched Book Rich Environments, described by the LA Times as turning "book deserts into literary oases." Steinberger is also a board member of the Fund for the City of New York. In December 2021, Steinberger 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 to be added in January 2022.

Personal life

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinberger, David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American publishing chief executives Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni