Meet the team
Who you’ll be working with
Mark Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Mark was the co-founder and Executive Director of the Welbeck Publishing Group and founder and CEO of both Zaffre and Quercus. These three publishing companies have had over 30 Sunday Times bestsellers from authors including Stieg Larsson, Wilbur Smith, Lynda La Plante, Peter May, Heather Morris, T.M Logan, James Swallow, Angela Marsons, Rosie Goodwin, Mel C, Freya North, Anton Du Beke, Louise Pentland, Dorothy Koomson, Stef Penney and
Philip Kerr.
Wayne Davies
Head of Author Acquisition
Wayne was the co-founder of UK Publisher of the Year winner Quercus and has over 30 years’ experience in trade, digital and audio publishing. He has published many international bestsellers including several million-copy plus projects, as well as overseeing the ebook sales phenomenons of Peter May, Hilary Boyd and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Wayne was also responsible for launching the online reviewing community Readers First.
James Blatch
Board Director & Brand Ambassador
James has been devising and implementing online advertising campaigns for the last six years to great success. As presenter of the Self-Publishing Show James has also developed deep ties and connections to the self-published author community and will bring this experience and expertise to Vinci Books to oversee and manage our online advertising strategies.
Jane Harris
Publisher
Jane has over 30 years of experience working in international corporates and medium and small indie publishers. She has worked with the Agatha Christie and Tolkien Estates, best selling commercial and literary authors including Val McDermid, George RR Martin, Philippa Gregory, Cassandra Clare, Jonathan Franzen, and many more. Moving from sales, marketing and PR to editorial and publishing has given Jane a 360 degree view of publishing.
James Horobin
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
James is a senior sales and marketing executive with a proven track record of building commercial author brands across global sales channels including James Patterson, Victoria Hislop, Maggie O’Farrell, Martina Cole, Wilbur Smith, Heather Morris, Lynda La Plante, Santa Montefiore and Simon Scarrow. James has held senior sales and marketing positions at Hachette UK, Simon & Schuster, Bonnier and Welbeck.
Alexander Niehues
Board Director
Alexander is the founder and owner of K-lytics, a leading market research and data analysis company focusing on the e-book and self-publishing industry and has developed Vinci’s unique Author Intelligence tool. With 25 years of experience as a top-management consultant for Fortune 500 companies, Alexander has served as an Office Head and Global Sector Leader at Booz & Company and Strategy& (PwC).
Stuart Bache
Chief Creative Officer
Stuart is a highly-experienced book cover designer and illustrator with almost two decades of experience in both traditional and self-publishing. He ran a successful design business, working closely with many multi-million bestselling authors including LJ Ross, Stephen King, Simon McCleave and John le Carré and has extensive experience in traditional publishing, having worked in senior positions for major publishers such as Hodder & Stoughton and HarperCollins.
Julian Shaw
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer
Julian is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a wealth of experience across various
media sectors including book publishing (Hachette, S&S, Bonnier), newspapers
(Telegraph Media Group), and TV (Sky). Julian has previously held senior publishing
roles covering finance, operations and business development and has been
Treasurer of his local Citizens Advice Bureau since 2024.
Nicole Jones
Head of Advertising
Nicole brings a diverse background in education and publishing to Vinci Books. Over twelve years in education, she championed high literary standards and fostered a love of reading among learners of all ages. She later transitioned into publishing, working with self-published author Steve Higgs, gaining hands-on experience in Kindle ebook production and digital marketing. Committed to building her expertise, she attends publishing events, keeping a finger on the pulse of trends and technological developments shaping the ever-evolving landscape of independent publishing.
Lou Johnson
Publisher
Lou has worked across all facets of the global publishing industry as Managing Director Simon & Schuster Australia, Publishing Director Murdoch Books, International Publishing Director and Chief Strategy Officer Mango Publishing (US), Sales & Marketing Director Allen & Unwin/Random House/Simon & Schuster. She also founded and sold an innovative publishing startup and co-founded a leading literary agency.
She has worked with a who’s who of incredible authors including Lynda La Plante, Jackie Collins, Philipa Gregory, Pamela Stephenson, Posie Graeme-Evans, Bill Granger, Chloe Hayden and Gloria Steinem.