ViacomCBS appoints insider Jonathan Karp as publishing unit’s CEO

(Reuters) – ViacomCBS said on Thursday it promoted insider Jonathan Karp as president and chief executive officer of its publishing unit, Simon & Schuster, effective immediately.

Karp, who joined the publication in 2010 and most recently served as president and publisher of its adult publishing division, succeeds Carolyn Reidy who passed away earlier this month.

ViacomCBS said in March it was exploring options for its publishing unit to focus on its advertising and streaming business. CEO Robert Bakish had said the company was receiving multiple offers.

Simon & Schuster was originally a part of CBS Corp, which merged with Viacom in December in their third attempt since 2016 to gird against competition in a rapidly consolidating media universe.

(Reporting by Neha Malara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)