Rich Thomas is Senior Vice President, Director of Publishing for The Harper Group at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where he develops and executes strategic plans for the Harper, HarperFestival, HarperTeen and HarperAlley imprints. His teams publish graphic novels, picture books, board and novelty books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade and young adult novels, as well as licensed publishing and intellectual property programs. Rich has launched multiple imprints and initiatives including the HarperAlley graphic novel imprint, HarperInk IP team, and the HarperChapters line of paperback chapter books. Prior to joining HarperCollins Children’s Books as a consultant, Rich held several editorial positions at Disney Publishing Worldwide, culminating as Associate Publisher and Editorial Director, as well as having held editorial positions at DC Comics, Hyperion Books, Macmillan, and Princeton Review Publishing, LLC. He serves on the Board of the Children’s Book Council. Rich received his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.