Scholastic Appoints Haji Glover to Serve as CFO

Scholastic has named Haji Glover as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective January 22, to succeed the outgoing CFO Ken Cleary, the company announced on Monday.

Glover, aged 50, previously served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance at Scholastic from January 2020 to August 2022. He brings approximately 27 years of finance and analytical expertise across diverse industries. Following his tenure at Scholastic, Glover worked for over a year as the Director of Finance at Amazon in New York City, leading the finance team supporting the tech giant’s People Experience and Technology division, as per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

This transition follows Scholastic’s announcement approximately five months ago regarding Cleary’s departure from the CFO role. Cleary, who joined the New York-based company in 2008 and served as CFO for the last six years, is set to become the firm’s next President of International upon the appointment of his replacement.

As part of Glover’s compensation package, he is set to receive an annual base salary of around $625,000. He will also be eligible for participation in the company’s short-term incentive plan, with a target bonus of 50% of his salary for fiscal year 2024. Furthermore, he will receive equity incentive grants, including restricted stock units, stock options, and long-term equity incentives valued at $500,000 beginning in September.

Comparatively, Cleary’s total compensation for the fiscal year ending May 31 amounted to $1.53 million, which included a salary of $615,000, compared to $1.4 million in the previous fiscal year, as detailed in the company’s latest proxy filing.

Scholastic, recognized as one of the world’s largest distributors of children’s books renowned for its impactful school book fairs and influential titles, has found itself in the midst of volatile cultural debates and an increasing number of public school book bans. The company’s decisions regarding titles related to race and LGBTQ+ issues have drawn attention and undergone reversals. The recent decision announced in December indicated the integration of books related to diversity, previously separated in an elementary school collection, into the spring 2024 book fairs.

CEO Peter Warwick acknowledged the complex environment in U.S. schools during a recent earnings call, highlighting growing societal polarization, political involvement in schools and boards, elevated absenteeism, and persistent teacher shortages. Warwick also noted a modest short-term slowdown in consumer spending growth during the fall, attributable to the company’s school-based business.

Despite a 4% decline in revenues to $562.6 million from $587.9 million in the fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30, net income saw a slight increase to $76.9 million from $75.4 million in the same period of the prior year. Warwick attributed this to lower costs in paper, manufacturing, freight, and shipping compared to the previous year.

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