IBPA Publishing University 2020

James Daunt, named B&N CEO in August 2019, also serves as Managing Director of Waterstones, the largest retail bookseller in the United Kingdom. He currently oversees 627 B&N stores in the United States, and 293 Waterstones locations across the U.K., Ireland, The Netherlands and Belgium.

In 1990, after an early career as an investment banker, James opened his own bookstore in London, called Daunt Books. Daunt Books now has nine locations, mainly in London, and remains independently owned by James.

In 2011, James was appointed Managing Director of Waterstones when the struggling bookseller was bought by Russian businessman, Alexander Mamut. Waterstones was subsequently restored to profitability, a success that led to the acquisition of a majority stake in the business by Elliott Advisors in July 2018. Elliott acquired B&N in August 2019.

"I couldn’t be more thrilled that Mr. Daunt has agreed to join the incredibly passionate membership at IBPA Publishing University this April," said IBPA CEO Angela Bole. "As an industry, we need Barnes & Noble to remain a healthy part of the supply chain. If it can also be a force for better connecting indie publishers to their local market, all the better."