Major U.S. Book Publisher Taps Former Amazon Exec Greg Greeley as New CEO

Former Amazon exec Greg Greeley has found a new job. He joins one of the United States’s biggest publishing houses, which has been on the hunt for a new CEO for six months.

Jonathan Karp stepped down as Simon & Schuster’s CEO six months ago, with the plan to move into his new imprint, Simon Six. This opened up the role, and the Simon & Schusters Board of Directors finally agreed on the man to take over.

Greg Greeley Has the International Experience Needed

According to Publishing Perspectives, Simon & Schuster’s Board of Directors chairman, Richard Sarnoff, shared that Greeley’s experience at Amazon is valuable. The publishing house would like to expand into more international markets, and Greeley brings that international experience that is needed.

After all, he worked at Amazon for almost 20 years, holding numerous leadership roles. He helped with the launching of the self-publishing platform and the print-on-demand service, both of which remain popular with users to this day. He also helped to expand the audiobook across the globe.

Greeley was also behind the First Reads, Prime Reading, and other “reader discovery” programs for the company. It’s not surprising that Simon & Schuster want to hear what he can do for their company.

That being said, Greeley hasn’t been with Amazon since2018. He became president of Airbnb’s Homes business. That hasn’t stopped his love of books, and Simon & Schuster clearly see something in him.

Jonathan Karp Will Continue Working With Simon & Schuster

It wasn’t the publishing house’s decision to remove Karp as CEO. When he stepped into the role in 2020, he made it clear that it wasn’t a lifelong position for him. His passion is in editorial work.

While he announced he was stepping down six months ago to handle Simon Six, he remained in the position until the company could find someone to replace him. He’s said to be more than thrilled with the decision to bring Greeley on.

Karp has already started work on his new slate of books for Simon Six, which will publish six books a year. The first is set to be released in May 2026, and is titled Take Me To Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

There are set to be more changes coming, though, as KKR, which bought Simon & Schuster in 2023, is reportedly looking to sell. For now, KKR is said to be investing in long-term and international growth.