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Penguin Random House is excited to bring foreign titles to China and Chinese literature to international markets, CEO says

Markus Dohle knew he had "the best job in the world" when best-selling author Dan Brown knocked on his office door in 2008.

This was five years before the merger of giant publishing houses Penguin and Random House, and Dohle was CEO of the latter.

"It was my first day," he recalls during a recent visit to Beijing. "I came into the office at 8 in the morning. One hour later, Brown came in and said he was dropping by and wanted to introduce himself."

The two became firm friends that day and still "we catch up as often as possible".

Dohle, now CEO of Penguin Random House, says that staying connected with people, products, services and the industry is crucial to any leader. "Staying in touch with authors is especially important."

That's why he met with tennis champion Li Na during his China visit. Penguin Random House released the English edition of her autobiography, Li Na: My Life.

Dohle says he feels privileged to have met Li, as a tennis fan and as a pro himself in his younger days. "Publishing is a people business," he says.

His team upgraded the company's logo and has sustained a record of selling more than 700 million books a year, from printed to audio to e-books. The company has published works by more than 60 Nobel laureates, while its other authors keep winning awards.

The group earned $3.76 billion last year and is among the most popular employers in the United States.

Dohle sees the merger as a combination of two communities into a family that's successful "on the business side and on the cultural side". The integration "increases our presence in the targeted growth markets of China, Brazil and India".

The secret to managing such a large community, he says, is "to run a large place like a small place, in that you can remain nimble and flexible".

He has organized the group, which operates in 25 countries and regions, in a decentralized way. That's because he believes publishing is a business about language and rights that supports local cultures, voices and talent.

He says Penguin Random House has continued to learn about the Chinese market and anticipates big opportunities as more Chinese read English-language titles. It plans to bring global best-sellers to China, while taking more Chinese titles international.

Dohle is proud of publishing Chinese Nobel laureate Mo Yan overseas, and says the group is planning more Chinese-language titles, especially given the rise in demand for children's literature.

"Publishing is less a global business and more a decentralized, creative and multilocal one," he says. "You can only do it bottom-up. You can't do it top-down. That's how we approach our international businesses and approach China, too, with our local publishing here."

He insists print will survive, despite the rise of digital platforms since 2009, when paper books began to decline.

"My basic strategic assumption is that print will always be important. Always, not for 50 years or 100 years, but always. And digital is becoming more and more important. There will be a healthy coexistence between the two."

He has been proved correct, too. Last year, printing increased by more than 6 percent in Britain and about 3 percent in the US.

Dohle was born in Arnsberg, Germany, in 1968 and trained in industrial engineering and management at the University of Karlsruhe. He says every day is different for him.

He's still deeply inspired and excited by the opportunity to publish great stories after 22 years in the sector. The CEO leads such campaigns as "Give a Book" and the Readathon, and supports libraries.

"We see ourselves as a creative force and as a cultural institution, not as a corporation. Our larger purpose is to create the future of books and love for reading in our society for generations to come," he says.

"We know that if we actually achieve that large purpose, then, as a byproduct and a logical consequence, we're also going to be financially successful."

meijia@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/07/2016 page19)