James Daunt

Achilles James Daunt (born 18 October 1963) is a British businessman. He is the founder of the Daunt Books chain, and since May 2011 has been managing director of the bookshop chain Waterstones. Known as "the man who saved Waterstones".[1] In June 2019, he became the CEO of the US bookshop chain Barnes & Noble,[2] acquired by Waterstones' parent, Elliott Advisors (UK) for $683m.[3]

James Daunt
Born
Achilles James Daunt

(1963-10-18) 18 October 1963
NationalityBritish
EducationSherborne School
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge University
Occupationmanaging director, Waterstones
Known forfounder, Daunt Books
Spouse(s)Katy Steward
Children2 daughters
Parent(s)Sir Timothy Daunt
Patricia Susan Knight
RelativesAchilles Daunt (gg grandfather)

Early life

Achilles James Daunt[4] was born on 18 October 1963,[5] the son of the diplomat Sir Timothy Daunt and his wife Patricia Susan Knight. He was educated at Sherborne School, before reading history at Pembroke College, Cambridge University.[6]

Career

His first job was as a purser with Carnival Cruise Lines.[5] After working in the US as a banker for JP Morgan, he founded Daunt Books,[7] a chain of six bookshops in London. In May 2011 he was appointed managing director of Waterstones by the company's new owner, the Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut.[8] The pair were listed at fourth place in a 2011 Guardian list of the top 100 people in the British books industry.[9]

Daunt was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.[10][11]

In 2020 Daunt was criticised for arguing that a bookshop was “essential” during the global coronavirus pandemic, keeping the shops open as competitors and other non-food retail businesses closed. Waterstones, led by Daunt, also made no effort to distribute hand sanitiser or protective gloves to its employees despite their close interactions with customers.[12]

Personal life

He is married to Katy Steward, a health professional, they have two daughters Molly and Eliza, and live in a 4-storey house in Hampstead.[13][14] They have a second house in Suffolk, and a third in Scotland.[14]

gollark: That order of magnitude.
gollark: No, something like $50000/year.
gollark: I was thinking octachoron.net, which sounds cool, but is unfortunately longer.
gollark: You can just pay them. There's a process for it. It's just hilariously expensive.
gollark: Heavpoot suggested apioforms-are-inevit.able, but there is no .able.

References
  1. "James Daunt: the man who saved Waterstones". Evening Standard. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  2. Alexandra Alter and Tiffany Hsu, "Barnes & Noble Is Sold to Hedge Fund After a Tumultuous Year'", New York Times, 7 June 2019.
  3. "Elliott to buy Barnes & Noble; Daunt will run both chains | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. "Daunt Books Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  5. "Interview" by Oliver Shah in The Sunday Times Business Section, 22 December 2013, p. 6.
  6. "Pembroke Gazette 2012" (PDF). Pembroke College. p. 120. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  7. Kate Kellaway, "James Daunt: 'I don't recognise that books are dead'", The Guardian, 3 June 2011.
  8. James Hall, "James Daunt parachuted in to run Waterstone's", The Daily Telegraph, 20 May 2011.
  9. Books Power 100: James Daunt and Alexander Mamut | No 4, The Guardian, 24 September 2011.
  10. Natasha Onwuemezi, "Rankin, McDermid and Levy named new RSL fellows", The Bookseller, 7 June 2017.
  11. "Current RSL Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  12. "Waterstones boss vows to keep stores open despite staff's fears". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  13. Eyre, Hermione (11 December 2014). "James Daunt: the man who saved Waterstones". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  14. Anthony, Andrew (27 May 2012). "James Daunt: the bibliophile who means business". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
Business positions
Preceded by
Dominic Myers		 Managing Director of Waterstones
May 2011 -		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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