Posted in: Boom, Comics | Tagged: Penguin, Penguin Random House, prh

Boom Studios Fires Staff, Moves Executives, In Latest Restructuring

Boom Studios fires staff and makes executive moves in its latest Penguin Random House restructuring changes

Published Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:29:08 -0500

Last updated Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:03:43 -0500

Article Summary

Boom Studios enacts layoffs and restructuring following its recent acquisition by Penguin Random House.
Key executives, including Michael Kelly and Julie Leung, take on expanded leadership roles at Boom Studios.
Marketing, sales, and business development teams are integrated with the larger Random House Worlds portfolio.
Boom Studios' direct-to-consumer and Kickstarter efforts to expand under new business development leadership.

Last week, I became aware of layoffs at Boom Studios. They included Anthony Mauro, associate marketing manager, were attributed to a new round of restructuring at Boom Studios, which had been bought by Penguin Random House, and had already let many people go. But now it seems there are more, and other changes as well. Keith Clayton, SVP, Publisher of Random House Worlds imprint group: RHWorlds, Disney, Inklore, Boom Studios, and Del Rey has shared the following changes.

Boom Studios Fires Staff, Moves Executive, In Its Latest Restructuring — Boom Studios/Penguin Random House mashup logo

Michael Kelly will join the Random House Worlds leadership team and continue to lead BOOM! as VP, Publisher, reporting to Clayton.

Julie Leung, VP, Deputy Publisher, Random House Worlds, will expand her purview to include BOOM!, connecting publishing, operations, and business planning across the RHW portfolio. BOOM! Publishing Manager Olivia Dontsov will now report to Julie. Supporting this structure, Alex Larned has been promoted to Associate Publisher, Del Rey and Random House Worlds, reporting to Leung, with Marcelle Iten Busto, newly promoted to Publishing Associate. Logan Balestrino, Senior Manager, Publishing Operations, Inklore, will also report to Julie, reinforcing consistency across publishing workflows and shared learnings across the imprints.

BOOM!'s direct-to-consumer and business development efforts will expand to support all Random House Worlds imprints, led by Bryce Carlson, who becomes VP, Business Development & Special Projects, Random House Worlds Group, reporting to Leung. In this role, Carlson will oversee the continued growth of Kickstarter and DTC initiatives and will manage partner and licensor relationships in close collaboration with the editorial teams.

Sales and distribution for BOOM!, Inklore, and direct-to-consumer programs will be overseen by Josh Hayes, now named Imprint Sales Director, reporting to Cynthia Lasky, EVP, Group Sales Director for RHPG. Austin Yi will move into a new role as Rights Associate, supporting BOOM! rights and reporting to Denise Cronin, SVP, Executive Rights Director.

The BOOM! marketing team—Marketing Manager Alya Kronsberg and Marketing Associate Grecia Martinez—will join the RHPG marketing group, reporting to David Moench, VP, Senior Director of Marketing and Publicity for Random House Worlds. Community engagement for BOOM! will continue to be led by Adrian Lopez, who will now report to Maya Fenter, recently promoted to Marketing Manager.

Anthony Mauro posts to Linkedin "Hi everyone! I'm seeking a new role and would appreciate your support. If you hear of any opportunities or just want to catch up, please send me a message." You should; he is very, very good. Anthony writes, "It feels weird to write this post, but as of yesterday, my time with BOOM! Studios has come to an end. It seems it wasn't in the cards for me to survive another round of restructuring and reorganizing post-acquisition. My time at BOOM! Studios has been nothing be a dream come true to work with some of the best creators, licenses, and behind the scenes team members in the industry, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the best team in comics for the years I was there. I'm still processing my thoughts and feelings, but the industry can take this post as me saying: I'm open for work. A final feather in my cap for my time at BOOM! was yesterday's Entertainment Weekly announcement for the relaunch of the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger comics. A helluva high to go out on for any publicist or marketer in this industry."

Bleeding Cool will report more updates from Boom Studios as we hear and can confirm it. Founded in 2005 by Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby, Boom Studios was known for a mix of original creator-owned series, licensed properties, and adaptations. In 2024, Boom was acquired by Penguin Random House and now operates as part of the Random House Worlds portfolio.

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