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Penguin Random House

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Editorial Director - Anonymous employee Penguin Random House Employee Review

1.0
Apr 6, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some talented people and the chance to work on great books

Cons

The UK CEO talks the talk but does NOT walk the walk. He has an oft-repeated shtick about PRH being the home of diversity, but it continues to be a middle class, white ivory tower. The recent gender pay gap figures were manipulated to disguise the fact that the senior men earn more than the senior women (including the publishing MDs) and their recent diversity questionnaire had to be delayed to ensure that the facilities team were included as they are the only team that is primarily non-white. Tom Weldon says he is 'sick' that there are more working class authors, and yet he has allowed a putsch against anyone senior that does not fall into his mould of privileged, privately educated and skinny. There is so much promise in the organisation and yet it remains a bullying, status-driven, ego-led place. There are pockets of nice teams but there is little genuine warmth. Until the leadership team changes, this will continue to be a place which is less than the sum of its parts.

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5.0
Jun 30, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

super friendly work environment, very understanding, very fun

Cons

in consumer marketing department, a large number of people work remotely

5.0
Jun 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

• Caring people. Psychological safety is emphasized by people at every level. I feel like leadership at each step of the reporting chain is very approachable and transparent. • Great work/life balance. • There is a lot of openness to trying new technologies or doing different things for such a large and established organization. There is very little "trend chasing," it's more like you're listened to. As the CEO started out as a technologist, he has a realistic view of what new tools (including, but not just, AI) can do for us. • Informal, especially for a company created by the merger of two nearly-100 year old publishing firms and was recently acquired by a nearly-200 year old company. • Company supports learning and development. • Free books! • I care greatly about the company's mission and it's clear how my work impacts the company's ability to execute on it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

Cons

• Pay and insurance are very average, but I can live with that. This is a much bigger con for employees whose jobs require them to be on-site, especially in e.g. London and New York. • Said learning and development seem to have a ...deliberate pace. While this is fine and what I wanted, other tech people coming in from more "tech-y" organizations mightn't gel with it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

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