Pottermore CEO Stands Down
Feb 03, 2017
J.K. Rowling, Media, News, Pottermore
After three and a half years heading up the London-based Pottermore.com, Susan Jurevics will step down at the end of February.
Jurevics’ relationship with the Pottermore team began when she worked from New York as an SVP at Sony, and was in charge of the company’s global partnership with Pottermore. Having read the Harry Potter series “countless” times, Jurevics moved to London in late 2013 to head up the company and transition Pottermore into a new, easy-to-use, mobile-friendly format.
During Jurevics’ time at the helm, the company’s sales more than doubled, totaling £15.1m ($18.8m). Neil Blair, chairman and literary agent of J.K. Rowling, praised Jurevic in an interview covered by The Bookseller:
“Susan leaves the business in incredible shape… Her commitment, creativity and dedication to the business have been fantastic and we are all immensely grateful for everything that she has done and achieved.”
Known for her unique hiring approach, Jurevics doesn’t appoint new team members until she’s gotten to know them over dinner. Resumé is not the most important factor in her evaluation, but demonstrated enthusiasm, affinity to the company culture, and expression of gratitude. A strong team is vital to the company’s success, especially as Jurevics will not be replaced by a new chief executive. Overall control of the business will remain with Blair, and increased responsibility will be divided among the remaining management team.
As reported by The Bookseller, Jurevics reflects on this recent chapter of her career:
“It’s been a joy working at Pottermore and taking the company to the next level… I’m proud of the team’s extraordinary work, which has been validated by both our financial results and our industry awards. Because I accomplished what I set out to do when I joined Pottermore in 2013, now is a great time for me to explore the next chapter in my career.”
Watch Jurevics reveal her secret to keeping the core values of Pottermore intact while spearheading a complete overhaul of the site here.
