Meeting House: Emma House speaks to inspiring bookwomen from around the world.
Núria Cabutí is a native of Barcelona and graduated in Economic Sciences from the UAB. She holds a BA in Business Studies from Oxford Brookes University and an MBA from IESE Business School. She began her career in publishing in 1992 as a financial analyst and in 1998 she was named Director of Marketing at Plaza & Janés. Following the merger that created Random House Mondadori in 2001, she was named Director of Marketing and Communications and in 2003 she was appointed Editorial Director of the Children’s and Young Readers Division, later taking additional responsibility of Debolsillo.
Núria became the CEO of Random House Mondadori in 2010 and in 2013 was appointed CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial and a member of Penguin Random House International Board. She has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann since 2021.
She is Vice president of Cercle d’Economia and member of the Management Board of AED, is member of the Supervisory Council of Barcelona Global and member of the Advisory Board of José Ortega y Gasset -Gregorio Marañon Foundation.
1. Having been a Business Studies graduate, why did you decide on a career in the publishing sector? What was it about publishing that attracted you?
When I was a child, I was always surrounded by art and literature at home. My grandparents were artist- painters- and my mother was a librarian. I always appreciated creative work and creative minds. When I was about to finish my studies, I saw that the European media company Bertelsmann was looking for new people to join their publishing businesses in Spain and I thought this could be an interesting business to work for. I was attracted from the very beginning as it was the perfect combination of dealing with management and dealing with creativity. I was completely captivated by the possibility of meeting very interesting authors and learn from them and at the same activity apply economics principles to the publishing industry.
2. You took an unusual route in to publishing with a finance role, but then moved into marketing and communications. How did this transition come to be?
I started my career as a business analyst, and I was working close to the management in different projects but from very early on I was attracted to marketing activities. At that point, the company wanted to grow in the paperback business in Spain and I was offered the opportunity to develop a marketing plan for our paperback collections and then I started my development within the marketing department and very soon the communications area where I had the opportunity to prepare press programs for our authors and be in constant communication with media.
3. When you became CEO of Random House Mondadori in 2010, what was the landscape of female CEOs in publishing in your territories at that time? Has it changed much? Did you find any challenges to becoming CEO as a female?
In the publishing industry there have always been many women in key positions especially in the content areas, but it is true that twelve years ago you could not find so many CEOs who were women. The landscape has been changing during these last years and today I can say that there is gender equality running the global PRH companies. In the specific case of PRH Grupo Editorial (our Hispanic companies) we have a diverse top management group with the same number of men and women and diversity in terms of nationalities and educational background.
Work life balance has always been an important challenge to me as I have a family, but I am glad to see that governments and companies are improving in offering life balance measures to their employees and I am sure this is a measure that will keep improving in the years to come.
4. You joined the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann in 2021. This is very male dominated board. What is your experience of being in such a male dominated environment?
My experience has been positive. I feel respected in my knowledge and expertise, and I have been able to have a transparent and candid relationship with all my colleagues. I think women today need to be more empowered and senior executives in the organisations must support them in their professional development. Top management must have diversity as one their top priorities when executing the strategy.
5. The publishing industry has faced many challenges over the last decade. As a CEO, what are the biggest challenges you have tackled in your territories?
We operate in nine different countries with different macroeconomic and geopolitical situations. One of our challenges has been to overcome the political and economic instability especially in some countries in Latin America and develop the book market, especially for young readers that will be the readers of the future and the ones who will reshape and develop our society.
6. Is there any one person, or any books that have deeply influenced you in your career journey so far? And what are you most proud of in your career?
I have been working with a very stable management team during all these years. We have built strong teamwork and we have learned one of each other and for me, this team has been a guide and influence in my daily work. We have achieved outstanding results together.
I am very proud to have developed our business in different countries and areas through a policy of organic growth and acquisitions and become the Spanish market leader in the trade publishing business. The thing that makes me happiest is that authors want to be published in our catalogues and our employees are committed, proud, and enjoy their daily work.
7. What topics are you most passionate about in the publishing sector right now and why?
The topic that we are all talking about these days is Artificial Intelligence. We know this will have an impact on our business and we shall be able to improve many processes within the publishing industry, but at the same time, generative AI can have a deep impact in the way content is generated and in some way influence creativity. We believe in human creativity as the main driver for literature, but we think creators will use AI in some form in order to improve the quality of their work.
8. What do you think are the key trends for the next 5 years for the broader publishing industry, especially in your territories?
In terms if content, we are seeing an increase in sales on all the topics linked to social media and specifically in the authors that belong to communities such as Wattpad or Tik Tok. We think this will continue, as well as the interest in self-help books especially all that is related with mental health.
Another trend we are seeing is that there will continue to be much conversation about cancel culture and freedom of expression and we as Penguin Random House are committed to hear and publish a wide range of diverse voices.
We think the topic of sustainability will be even more important in the years to come so publishing houses must keep improving in reducing CO2 and find ways to be more effective in distributing books.
Online sales distribution platforms will continue to grow and supply chain will become even more important as readers want to have the content quickly once they have decided to buy books. Finally, I think audiobooks will continue to expand related to the higher demand of podcasts specially among young people.
9. You hold positions outside of your role as CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial – what are your interests in these?
I am the Vice President of an Economic, Social and Political think tank called Cercle de Economia based in Barcelona where we discuss the future of our society and how politicians and entrepreneurs can shape and influence in the development of society. I also sit on the Board of IESE business school alumni and in AED, the Spanish executives Board. All these institutions give me good insights of what is happening in the business world and main trends that other companies and faculty are envisioning.
10. What advice would you give to young women in publishing aspiring to become the next generation of CEOs?
Have passion in what you do. Any job and daily work can have a great impact in the company where you work. Believe in yourself and look for women role models to inspire you.
Emma’s always looking for more Meeting House interviewees. To take part please get in touch via Twitter, Facebook or info@womeninpublishing.org.
