About a year ago, Simon & Schuster was acquired by KKR Private Equity, to start a new era for the iconic New York based publisher. The plan is to turn the company into a global publishing powerhouse, expanding its reach internationally while embracing digital transformation and innovation in publishing.

First concrete steps have followed quickly, with the recent acquisitions of leading Dutch publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) and Australian publisher Affirm Press, marking its international ambitions. As the company continues to diversify across print and digital channels, Jonathan Karp will explore the opportunities and challenges of scaling internationally and how Simon & Schuster is positioning itself for sustained growth.

Richard Sarnoff, Chairman of the Board of Simon & Schuster and long-time KKR investor and former senior publishing industry executive, will provide additional context on Simon & Schuster's successful transition under new ownership and how the company is poised to lead in both established markets and new growth areas within the evolving publishing landscape.

The event is prepared and moderated by Ruediger Wischenbart in conjunction with his Global 50 Publishing Ranking, which has mapped the 50 largest publishing corporations each year since 2007, in a partnership with the Frankfurter Buchmesse and with leading international publishing trade publications, notably Bookdao (PR China), The Bookseller (UK), dpr - Digital Publishing Report (Germany), Livres Hebdo (France) and Publishers Weekly (US), whose editors will interview the guest speakers live on stage.