The Innovators

Are you planning to move into film?

Yes, one of our partners is our integrated design officer. He is a techie and a film guy. He is chomping at the bit to move us into that segment. We will certainly go there. Another one of our partners is pitching a TV series. It is a reality show based on the life of fly-fishing guides that we would produce and sponsor. We're not there yet, but there is no question we have to move into that segment.

Chantal Restivo-Alessi
Chief Digital Officer, HarperCollins
Digital Changes
Having witnessed first-hand the upheaval of the music industry and dissolution of former employer EMI, HarperCollins chief digital officer Chantal Restivo-Alessi knows that an unwillingness to adapt to the digital landscape can prove fatal. She doesn't intend for HarperCollins to make that mistake.

Despite not having deep roots in the book publishing industry, Restivo-Alessi has a diverse media background. She's had stints in advertising, consulting, and investment banking, where she worked extensively with media companies. But it was Restivo-Alessi's experience in the music industry that has been the most instructive for her current role. Joining HarperCollins in May of 2012, Restivo-Alessi recognized disturbing parallels between the music and publishing industries—mainly a reticence toward new distribution platforms and technologies. In spite of this wariness, Restivo-Alessi helped orchestrate HarperCollins' partnership with three ebook subscription sites: Scribd, Oyster, and Entitle. HarperCollins was the first of the Big Five to make its backlist available on these platforms and its titles are enjoying increased visibility as a result.

Restivo-Alessi pushed these partnerships because she understood that content consumption is changing, especially among younger readers. Ideas of ownership have shifted, says Restivo-Alessi, who acknowledges that young people tend to value access to content over ownership.

Here Restivo-Alessi describes her latest projects and predictions for the industry’s future.