March 5, 2025 (press release) –
Shoults Will Report to HBGUS Distribution CEO Matt Wright in Newly Created Role
NEW YORK (March 5, 2025) — Matt Wright, CEO of Hachette Book Group US Distribution and Hachette UK Distribution, announced today that Michael (“Mike”) Shoults has been named HBGUS Distribution’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this newly created role, Shoults will report to Wright and oversee both the Warehouse Operations in Indiana, and the Fulfilment Departments located in Boston and Indiana.
“I created this role to drive continuous service improvement from the point that we receive a customer’s order, to the delivery of that order, continuing right through to after sales care,” said Wright. “By joining up the functions, the role of COO will have complete responsibility for the end-to-end service delivery. In addition, this role will be instrumental in building strong relationships with our publisher clients, and their customers, ensuring that our improvement plans align closely with their needs.”
HBGUS Distribution draws together all order management, fulfilment, and cash collection activities in the US for Hachette Book Group and its third-party client publishers, which represent 50 percent of the business. Services for client publishers are performed by the warehouse operations based in Indiana, the Fulfilment team based in both Indiana and Boston and supported by the Credit Control and Client Accounting teams based in Boston.
Shoults has led teams in a host of different spaces and disciplines over 20 years, but as a self-proclaimed lover of books, Hachette “feels like coming home.”
An alum of Western Kentucky University, Shoults grew up in a military family that moved around the world before putting down roots in Kentucky for his high school and college years. After joining the US Army, he was commissioned in 2005 as a lieutenant and served eight years in roles with increasing leadership responsibilities, including multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Following an honorable discharge from the military, Shoults joined Amazon and led large teams in a variety of spaces, including fulfillment, transportation, and cargo aviation operations. In 2021, Mike joined GameStop to overhaul its transportation and logistics operation. He then joined the private equity startup world as the Global Head of Supply Chain of a $400M CPG startup formerly known as Heyday stabilizing the supply chain, driving cost under control and thereby positioning the company for acquisition.
“I feel like my life’s professional work and personal passion for books has led me to this very point,” said Shoults. “The opportunity to join Hachette and lead in a big way is more than good fortune; it’s an absolute dream for me. It makes sense that I should funnel my zeal for supply chain ops and my love of books into delivering for readers across the country!”
“I am delighted that Mike has joined the HBG US Distribution Team. Mike has a proven track record of delivering continuous improvement and world-class service in many different businesses,” said Wright. “He will be instrumental in leading and developing our business in the years ahead, and I am certain that he will be extremely successful in this role.”
About Hachette US Distribution
HBGUS Distribution draws together all order management, fulfilment, and cash collection activities in the US for Hachette Book Group and its third-party client publishers, which represent 50 percent of the business. Services for client publishers are performed by the warehouse operations based in Indiana, the Fulfilment team based in both Indiana and Boston and supported by the Credit Control and Client Accounting teams based in Boston.
About Hachette Book Group
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading U.S. general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group; Grand Central Publishing Group; Hachette Audio; Little, Brown and Company; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Orbit; Union Square & Co.; and Workman Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to other publishing companies. Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, and other major honors. We are committed to diversity in our company and our publishing programs, and to fostering a culture of inclusion for all of our employees and authors. We are proud to be part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest trade and educational publisher. Visit hachettebookgroup.com to learn more about our imprints, titles, and products. For updated news, please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X.com, and YouTube.
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Press Contact: Gabrielle Gambrell Gabrielle.Gambrell@hbgusa.com
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