The board of Agora has decided on the composition of the management board of the company Agora Book and Music, which from April 1 will take over the responsibility for Agora’s publishing activities. The board of the company will include Robert Kijak, Małgorzata Skowrońska, and Beata Gutowska. The future management board of the company Czerska 8/10, which will be responsible for administrative matters of Agora, was also indicated.
Agora Book and Music Ltd. was registered on August 22, 2023, and from April 1, it will take over the responsibility for Agora’s publishing house together with its publishing brands, the Agora Music label, music distribution within Agora Digital Music, and the online bookstores Publio.pl and Kulturalnysklep.pl.
The Agora Książka i Muzyka Ltd. board will consist of three people: Robert Kijak, responsible for the Agora Music label and distribution activities within Agora Digital Music, Małgorzata Skowrońska, responsible for the Agora publishing house, and Beata Gutowska, responsible for managing the online bookstore Publio.pl.
At the same time, the Agora board also decided on the composition of the future management board of the last of four differentiated companies – Czerska 8/10, which will be responsible for managing the main headquarters of the Agora Group in Warsaw, administrative services for companies in the Agora Group, and gastronomy in the building at Czerska 8/10, that is, the cafeteria and cafe. The board of the company will include Marcin Tkaczyk, director of Agora administration, and Kamil Pałyska, deputy director for strategic controlling in the Agora Group.
Robert Kijak has been working for Agora since 1990. Since 2005, he has been responsible for publishing projects – both book and music. He is a co-creator of the Agora Publishing House and the publisher of several hundred music albums. He co-created the Olsztyn Green Festival, was the producer of the World’s Smallest Concerts of Roxy Radio, and the originator of many publishing projects. Since 2013, he has been leading the company NEXT FILM belonging to the Agora Group, which is involved in film distribution and production. Since April 2023, he has been the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Audio Video Producers Union. He is a member of the Phonographic Academy. He was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by President Bronisław Komorowski (for contributions to Polish culture) and the bronze medal “Recognized for Culture Gloria Artis” by the Minister of Culture.
Małgorzata Skowrońska is a co-creator of the Agora publishing house and one of the people behind the success of the series “Gazeta Wyborcza Library”, which includes more than 60 collections, among them the works of Ryszard Kapuściński, Stanisław Lem, and Tadeusz Konwicki, as well as the pioneering series of audiobooks “Masters of the Word”. She started working for Agora in 1998 in the Zielona Góra-Gorzów branch of “Gazeta Wyborcza”, where she was responsible for promotion, and in 2003 she advanced to the position of promotion manager of the Warsaw edition of “Wyborcza”. Since 2019, as managing director, she has been responsible for the development and strategy of Agora Publishing. She is a member of the Board of the Polish Book Chamber (PIK) and a member of the Board of SAiW Copywrite Polska. She represents Agora on the Board of the Universal Reading Foundation.
Beata Gutowska has been the managing director of the online bookstore Publio.pl since 2014. Previously, she worked in the PWN Group, where she was the managing director of the reference and special publications division and the publishing director for special projects. Before that, she managed the book department at G+J RBA, was the deputy publishing director of the monthly “National Geographic” and the head of the photoservice and assistant publisher in the press corporation Gruner + Jahr Polska. She represents Agora on the board of the Association I Read and Listen Legally.
She also works as a lecturer, sharing her knowledge with students of the Faculty of Journalism, Information and Book Science at the University of Warsaw.
