Penguin Ventures welcomes Zoe Smith as Senior Category Manager, UK Softlines

Penguin Ventures, the licensing team within Penguin Random House Children’s, has appointed Zoe Smith as Senior Category Manager, UK Softlines.

Smith will report to David Sprei, Commercial Director at Penguin Ventures, and will be responsible for the UK Softlines business across Ventures’ portfolio of iconic literary children’s brands, including The World of Peter Rabbit, The World of The Snowman, Flower Fairies™ and Spot.

“Zoe has a wealth of experience and is a softlines specialist, respected by peers and licensees and knows the UK preschool market incredibly well,” said David Sprei.

“Across her previous licensing and retail roles, Zoe has developed a phenomenal grasp of the category and joins Ventures to drive further growth across new and existing partners for such an important area of the business. I’m delighted that Zoe arrives ahead of BLE and I’m excited for everyone to meet her there, in her new role.”

Zoe Smith added: “I am thrilled to be joining the team at Penguin Ventures and to be working on such beloved, timeless brands. I have huge affection for these brands both professionally and personally, and I cannot wait to work with the amazing licensing partners, drawing on my previous experience, to further expand the already well-established business in the UK.”