Nihar Malaviya

As President and Chief Operating Officer of Penguin Random House U.S., Nihar Malaviya is responsible for the company’s full range of publishing operations, including supply chain, strategic project management, data science and market analysis, IT, and client services. In his leadership role, he is focused on driving growth, setting the global data and technology agenda, and building new capabilities for future success.

Nihar led the successful operations and systems integration of Penguin and Random House, the largest-ever merger in trade book publishing. He has also spearheaded the creation of a variety of industry-first capabilities—in data science, supply chain, technology, and consumer insights—which has resulted in significant core competitive advantages for Penguin Random House worldwide. Nihar joined Penguin Random House’s majority shareholder, Bertelsmann, in 2001 as part of its Bertelsmann Entrepreneurs Program. Two years later, he moved to Random House, ascending to the role of SVP, Strategy, Analytics, and Program Development in 2012, after taking on a variety of corporate roles and projects leading digital strategy, eBook pricing, implementation of vendor-managed inventory, sales reorganization, technology infrastructure consolidation, supply-chain redesign, and production vendor renegotiations. Nihar is a two-time winner of the Bertelsmann Entrepreneurial Award for Strategy Implementation, the first for navigating Random House through its digital transformation, and the second for executing the operational aspects of the Penguin Random House merger in the United States.

Nihar began his career on Wall Street, where he worked for seven years at the intersection of credit and market risk management and technology. He has an MBA in finance and marketing from the Stern School of Business and a bachelor of science in computer science, and is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter holder. Nihar serves on the Bertelsmann Data and Technology Advisory Board, the University of Chicago Data Analytics for Business Professionals Industry Advisory Board, and the Yale University Press Board of Governors. He resides in New Jersey with his wife and two children.