Podium is proud to introduce our Acquisitions leadership team. As a dedicated group of professionals with a passion for identifying and acquiring exceptional content, our team members bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the table. This dynamic team, armed with their deep industry knowledge and unbridled passion for publishing, is at the forefront of driving Podium’s growth and solidifying its position as an industry leader. Here’s a bit more about our team:

Victoria Gerken has welcomed independent authors into the Podium family since since 2016. She previously worked with authors in traditional publishing roles – at Random House and Alfred A. Knopf – where she was a publicist and sold subsidiary rights. She got her first taste of entrepreneurship in publishing as the founder of the Random House Speakers Bureau.

Kate Runde has been in the publishing and author relations business for nearly two decades. Prior to joining Podium in 2019, she served as the Director of Publicity for Vintage/Anchor Books at Penguin Random House, where she worked with hundreds of bestselling and award-winning authors on their communications strategies, book media campaigns, branding, and specialized, large-scale initiatives for top-level, high profile thought leaders.

Julie Constantine joined the Podium author relations team after 5 years in visual arts publishing. Most recently as Sales Manager for Phaidon Press she oversaw key trade and wholesale accounts in NYC and the northeast. Prior to that she managed PR and marketing strategies for TASCHEN America. She still can’t quite believe she now works for a company where her love of sci-fi and fantasy is considered a valuable skill.

Cassie Hanjian is a publishing professional with over a decade of experience in author relations, client development, and talent scouting. Prior to joining Podium, Cassie served as Director of West Wind Literary Scouting and worked as a literary agent for bestselling authors at DeFiore & Company and Waxman Leavell Literary Agency. Having focused on commercial fiction and nonfiction for the majority of her career, Cassie is thrilled to bring her experience to the Podium team.

Stephanie Beard has spent the past decade working in acquisitions, rights and the adaptation market. Previously, she helmed the rights department at Sourcebooks, where she helped grow the core business as well as launched an in-house film and TV licensing program which included a first look deal with Sony Pictures TV. Additionally, she served as the Executive Editor and Rights Director at Turner Publishing, where she founded Keylight Books which focused on finding stories for print and screen.

Chelsea Villareal (she/her) is a queer Mexican-American multimedia strategist with over a decade of experience working in print and digital storytelling. She has formerly worked as a marketing professional across traditional publishing houses such as Penguin Random House (Penguin Young Readers), Scholastic, and Phaidon. While she’s an avid book nerd, she also appreciates a myriad of online and IRL community spaces and has experience working in live events, film, and video games. Her passion points focus on underappreciated fandoms (readers!) and, of course, all the mainstream geekery and meme discourse.