# James Daunt

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{{short description|British business executive|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name             = James Daunt
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| image            =
| caption          = 
| birth_name       = Achilles James Daunt
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1963|10|18|df=yes}}
| birth_place      = 
| death_date       = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place      = 
| citizenship      = 
| other_names      = 
| known_for        = Founder, [Daunt Books](/source/Daunt_Books)
| education        = [Sherborne School](/source/Sherborne_School)
| alma_mater       = [Pembroke College](/source/Pembroke_College%2C_Cambridge), [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University)
| occupation       = Managing Director, [Waterstones](/source/Waterstones)
| years_active     = 
| title            = 
| term             = 
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = 
| boards           = 
| spouse           = Katy Steward
| partner          = 
| children         = 2 daughters
| parents          = [Sir Timothy Daunt](/source/Timothy_Daunt)<br> Patricia Susan Knight
| relatives        = [Achilles Daunt](/source/Achilles_Daunt) (great-great grandfather)
| website          =  
}}

'''Achilles James Daunt''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} (born 18 October 1963) is a British businessman. He is the founder of the [Daunt Books](/source/Daunt_Books) chain, and since May 2011 has been managing director of the bookshop chain [Waterstones](/source/Waterstones). Since August 2019, Daunt has also been CEO of [Barnes & Noble](/source/Barnes_%26_Noble), the American bookstore chain. He is known as "the man who saved Waterstones".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/james-daunt-the-man-who-saved-waterstones-9913047.html|title=James Daunt: the man who saved Waterstones|date=2014-12-10|website=Evening Standard|location=London|language=en|access-date=2019-09-04}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Jones|first=Callum|title=James Daunt: The man who wrote the book on the daunting task of taking on Amazon|newspaper=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/a-whole-new-chapter-in-barnes-noble-for-british-bookseller-james-daunt-cd8rr62jh|access-date=2021-11-09|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Achilles James Daunt<ref name=CompaniesHouse>{{cite web|title=Daunt Books Limited|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03068928/officers|website=Companies House|accessdate=19 November 2015}}</ref> was born on 18 October 1963,<ref name =ST>"Interview" by Oliver Shah in ''[The Sunday Times](/source/The_Sunday_Times)'' Business Section, 22 December 2013, p. 6.</ref> the son of the diplomat [Sir Timothy Daunt](/source/Timothy_Daunt) and his wife Patricia Susan Knight.

He was educated at [Sherborne School](/source/Sherborne_School), before reading history at [Pembroke College](/source/Pembroke_College%2C_Cambridge), [Cambridge University](/source/Cambridge_University).<ref name="Pembroke">{{cite web|title=Pembroke Gazette 2012|url=http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Pembroke-Gazette-2012-Web.pdf|page=120|website=Pembroke College|accessdate=19 November 2015|archive-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119210600/http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Pembroke-Gazette-2012-Web.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
His first job was as a purser with [Carnival Cruise Lines](/source/Carnival_Cruise_Lines).<ref name =ST/>

After working in the US as a banker for [JP Morgan](/source/J.P._Morgan_%26_Co.) between 1985 and 1988, he founded Daunt Books in 1990,<ref>Kate Kellaway, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/03/james-daunt-waterstones-interview "James Daunt: 'I don't recognise that books are dead'"], ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', 3 June 2011.</ref> a chain of six bookshops in London.<ref name=":0" />

In May 2011, he was appointed managing director of Waterstones by the company's new owner, the Russian billionaire [Alexander Mamut](/source/Alexander_Mamut).<ref>James Hall, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8525575/James-Daunt-parachuted-in-to-run-Waterstones.html "James Daunt parachuted in to run Waterstone's"], ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'', 20 May 2011.</ref> The pair were listed at fourth place in a 2011 ''[Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' list of the top 100 people in the British books industry.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/23/james-daunt-alexander-mamut-books-power-100 Books Power 100: James Daunt and Alexander Mamut | No 4], ''The Guardian'', 24 September 2011.</ref>

Daunt was elected an [Honorary Fellow](/source/Honorary_Fellow) of the [Royal Society of Literature](/source/Royal_Society_of_Literature) in 2017.<ref>Natasha Onwuemezi, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/syal-and-mcdermid-named-new-rsl-fellows-564396 "Rankin, McDermid and Levy named new RSL fellows"], ''[The Bookseller](/source/The_Bookseller)'', 7 June 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://rsliterature.org/fellows/current-fellows/ |title=Current RSL Fellows |publisher=Royal Society of Literature |accessdate=10 June 2017 |archive-date=6 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206015823/https://rsliterature.org/fellows/current-fellows/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2019, he became the CEO of the US bookshop chain [Barnes & Noble](/source/Barnes_%26_Noble),<ref>Alexandra Alter and Tiffany Hsu, [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/books/barnes-noble-sale.html "Barnes & Noble Is Sold to Hedge Fund After a Tumultuous Year'"], ''[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)'', 7 June 2019.</ref> acquired by Waterstones' parent, [Elliott Advisors (UK)](/source/Elliott_Investment_Management) for $683m.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elliott to buy Barnes & Noble; Daunt will run both chains {{!}} The Bookseller|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/elliott-buy-barnes-noble-daunt-will-run-both-chains-1020446|access-date=2019-09-04|website=thebookseller.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Porter |date=2019-06-07 |title=Hedge Fund Elliott Mngt. Agrees to Buy Barnes & Noble |url=https://publishingperspectives.com/2019/06/barnes-noble-in-deal-with-elliott-mangagement-hedge-fund-james-daunt-runs-bn-waterstones/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Publishing Perspectives |language=en-US}}</ref>

In November 2021, Daunt interviewed [Sir Paul McCartney](/source/Paul_McCartney) to discuss McCartney's bestselling book "[The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present](/source/The_Lyrics%3A_1956_to_the_Present)".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Romaine |first=Jenna |date=2021-12-06 |title=Paul McCartney reveals the Beatles were first all about the money |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/584530-paul-mccartney-reveals-the-beatles-were-first-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120092334/https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/584530-paul-mccartney-reveals-the-beatles-were-first-all |archive-date=2022-01-20 |access-date=2025-10-03 |work=TheHill |language=en}}</ref>

Daunt was appointed [Commander of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) (CBE) in the [2022 Birthday Honours](/source/2022_Birthday_Honours) for services to publishing.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63714|supp=y|page=B9|date=1 June 2022}}</ref>

==Personal life==

He is married to Katy Steward, a professional in the health sector. They have two daughters and live in [Hampstead](/source/Hampstead);<ref name=ES>{{cite news|last1=Eyre|first1=Hermione|title=James Daunt: the man who saved Waterstones|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/james-daunt-the-man-who-saved-waterstones-9913047.html|accessdate=19 November 2015|work=[Evening Standard](/source/Evening_Standard)|location=London|date=11 December 2014}}</ref><ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|last1=Anthony|first1=Andrew|title=James Daunt: the bibliophile who means business|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/may/27/observer-profile-james-daunt-waterstones|accessdate=19 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=27 May 2012}}</ref> they also have homes  in [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk) and on the [Isle of Jura](/source/Isle_of_Jura) in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allfree |first=Claire |date=29 January 2025 |title=Waterstones CEO James Daunt: 'We have stubbornly held on in places like Middlesbrough long after M&S left' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/29/waterstones-ceo-james-daunt-interview/ |access-date=2025-11-18 |website=[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bus}}
{{S-bef|before= [Dominic Myers](/source/Dominic_Myers) }}
{{S-ttl|title= Managing Director of Waterstones|years= May 2011 - }}
{{S-aft|after= Incumbent }}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daunt, James}}
Category:1963 births
Category:Living people
Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
James
Category:English booksellers
Category:People educated at Sherborne School
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:21st-century English businesspeople
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Daunt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Daunt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Daunt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.