Job: chairman and chief executive, Penguin Group
Age: 55
Industry: publishing
Turnover: £1bn
Staff: 850 (UK), 3,500 (worldwide)
Salary: £1.43m (including £655,000 bonus)
New entry
Penguin reinvented publishing in the 1930s with the invention of the quality paperback. Now its chairman and chief executive, John Makinson, wants to do the same with the ebook in the digital age. "The definition of the book itself is up for grabs," he has said.
The former Financial Times journalist – chairman of Penguin since 2001 and its chief executive since 2002 – is helping to define how we will consume books, and how the publishing industry tackles a digital transition that hobbled the music industry.
Makinson has promised a new definition of books providing "interactive learning experiences", with "book applications" for the Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle reader that include embedded audio, video and streaming content.
"The transition from physical to digital is a momentous moment for the industry," said Makinson, who compared the rise of the ebook to the 15th-century invention of the printing press. "The decisions that we take now on behalf of authors will determine the future of publishing."
Only a small percentage of Penguin's sales are ebooks – 2.3% in 2009, up from 0.5% the previous year – but the iPad should attract millions of new readers and Makinson has predicted electronic books will account for 10% of book sales in 2011.
Makinson was previously finance director of Penguin's parent company, Pearson, and has been mooted as a possible successor to the company's enduring chief executive, Dame Marjorie Scardino.
He was also appointed chairman of the National Theatre this year, succeeding Sir Hayden Phillips, and will take up the role in November.
The youngest son of a Staffordshire accountant, Makinson began his career as a journalist at Reuters and then the Financial Times, where he edited the Lex Column, before taking a senior role at Saatchi & Saatchi in 1986.
He returned to the FT as its managing director in 1994 after running his own consultancy, Makinson Cowell.
Penguin's 2009 UK bestsellers included Marian Keyes's This Charming Man, Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and Ooh! What a Lovely Pair, the autobiography of Ant and Dec. Highlights for 2010 include books by John le Carré, Barbara Streisand, and two more from Jamie Oliver.
Makinson is also chairman of the Institute of Public Policy Research and a director of the International Rescue Committee.
