Ellen Archer

Background

About Ellen Archer

You could sum up my career in a word: Storytelling. As a publisher, storytelling alludes to my precision in knowing which stories become sensations - and I could tell story or two about working with John Grisham, Candace Bushnell, Kwame Alexander, and Lauren Groff. Yet, what I mean by "storytelling" as the president of publishing companies and as a board member is my ability to look where no one else is looking to see potential and boundless growth. To make something bigger. To transform companies by using their strengths to their advantage. What stories are these?>As the board chair of Girls Write Now, I coached up-and-coming leaders to secure $300k in corporate sponsorships and harnessed my network to fund $200K in personal donations and grants, adding $500k to the non-profit's operating budget.>As president of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I transformed a traditional publishing house into an omni-channel powerhouse by developing ancillary businesses, including a lucrative internal video production arm to develop IP into digital and streaming assets, and launching a lucrative audiobook division.>I met Kwame Alexander, already an award-winning, best-selling author with HMH and unlocked his potential across the organization to create a diversity-oriented publishing imprint, Versify, which drove 3M in its first year.>I fostered curiosity, presentation skills and business acumen among team members by launching "Two-Minute Pitch" business development sessions. A graphic designers pitched a concept for a graphic novel imprint, which accelerated revenue by several million dollars in its first year, capitalizing on shifting industry trends."Financial Literacy for All," and bi-monthly P&L review programs were also introduced.>I created the HMH Talent Hive, formalizing my ability to connect stakeholders and see past industry limitations. The hive consisted of authors, television & film executives and other consultants who energized sales, lowered the cost of acquisition and shared expertise and professional networks.>I've accelerated revenue, improved margin, leveraged sales analytics to hone sales strategy, digitized PR & marketing, improved DEI hiring and internal practices and counseled start-ups and small businesses on strategy and best practices.>I'm passionate about growing and developing teams with transparency, setting goals higher than what some people say is unreasonable (but truly are attainable), and making connections that create seismic shifts. Interested in more stories? Connect with me at archere92@gmail.com