About

Ali Green - CEO & Co-Founder

Social entrepreneur Alison is the visionary and force behind Pantera Press. 

Green is 2019 Australian Business News Sydney Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Media/PR) and was named one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women by Westpac and the Australian Financial Review for exemplifying, through Pantera Press, the trend towards integrating business and social good. Ali is a Harvard Business School Alumna and sits on a number of industry committees and boards including Writing NSW (Director) and the Pantera Press Foundation (Director).  She was also chosen as one of the top 20 young leaders in philanthropy in 2013 and again in 2015 for Philanthropy Australia’s study tours to USA, and UK/EU.

Lucy Barrett - Chief Operating Officer

Lucy has been in publishing for 17 years and has previously had roles at Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House and most recently as Sales Director of Bloomsbury Australia. During this time she has worked on brands including Harry Potter, Sarah J Maas, Elizabeth Gilbert and multiple Booker Prize winners.

John M. Green - Chairman and Author

After a 30 year career in law and investment banking, John became a company director and acclaimed novelist. John is a board member of several listed companies and government bodies, and has been a University Press director, prior to Pantera Press. John is co-founder and Chairman of Pantera Press and also sits on the foundation board.

Marty Green - Director and Publisher

Martin works at the intersection of social purpose business and social purpose book publishing, publishing books with an impact focus – primarily under the Lost the Plot imprint – and as a director of Pantera Press and the Pantera Press Foundation, with the aim of maximising and promoting social good.

Jenny Green - Accounts Manager and Director

Jenny has a background in computer science and investment management. After a successful 25-year career in IT consulting, Jenny became an award-winning professional sculptor.  Jenny wrote her first book in the early 80s and is co-founder of Pantera Press. She sits on the board and foundation board.

Lex Hirst - Publishing Director

Lex joined Pantera Press in 2018 after commissioning and editing at Penguin Random House. A former co-director of the National Young Writers’ Festival, curator of Junkee Media’s Junket Conference and SAMAG (Sydney Arts Management Advisory Group) committee member, she was named an Australian Book Industry Rising Star in 2017. Lex is passionate about finding exciting new voices, strong storytelling and books with big cultural conversations at their heart.

Kate Cuthbert - Editorial Director

Kate Cuthbert has worked with writers for almost 20 years, in several different capacities. A genre fiction advocate, she notably launched the Escape imprint for Harlequin Australia, and remains a proud popular fiction enthusiast. Kate holds a PhD in publishing studies and is the co-host of the podcast What Would Danbury Do?.

Kajal Narayan - Head of Marketing

Kajal started her publishing career at Rockpool Publishing and joined Pantera Press in 2020 after working at HarperCollins for five years, most recently as a Senior Marketing & Communications Executive.

Lauren Draper - Head of Publicity and Communications

Lauren is a marketing and publicity professional with almost ten years experience in publishing. She has worked on everything from bespoke local campaigns to international blockbusters. Her most recent work experience includes University of Queensland Press and Hardie Grant Kids.

Katherine Hassett - Publisher

Kathy has been in publishing for 13 years and brings a wealth of trade publishing experience across a variety of commissioning and editorial roles, most recently as Associate Publisher for non-fiction at Harper Collins. Some of the notable authors and brands Kathy has worked on include Mark Manson, Anna Jones, Simon Winchester, Jay Shetty, Dervla McTiernan, Tara Moss, Jessica Detmann and Belinda Alexandra.

Tom Langshaw - Publisher

Tom has worked in trade publishing for nearly a decade. Before starting at Pantera Press in early 2021 he held roles as a senior editor and audio producer at Penguin Random House, where he worked with a range of authors, genres and formats.

Lucy Bell - Managing Editor

Lucy has a Master of Publishing degree and started at Pantera Press in 2014. Since then, Lucy has been integral to the development of our editorial department and has worked with numerous award-winning and bestselling authors. Lucy is also the author of popular kids’ book You Can Change the World.

Katy McEwen - Rights Manager

Katy has had a long career in publishing both in the UK and Australia. After starting out at Penguin UK she moved to Australia and in 2006 joined Allen & Unwin’s rights department. She became rights manager at Pantera Press in 2014. Katy is also the author of Oldies’ Guide to the Millennial World.

Kirsty van der Veer - Editor and Production Coordinator

With over 7 years’ experience in retail as a bookseller, Kirsty made the move to publishing at the start of 2019 after finishing her Creative Arts degree.

Elly Clapin - Designer

Elly has worked in publishing for over 6 years, and joined Pantera Press as a social media and digital marketing expert before discovering her love for graphic design. She now works as our dedicated in-house graphic designer and book designer.

Melissa Snook - Marketing and Publicity Coordinator

With a Master of Publishing degree from The University of Sydney, Melissa started working at Pantera Press in 2021. Melissa previously worked on the Sydney University Anthology for three years, publishing collections on topics including: climate change, diversity and networks, and working with authors such as Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Larissa Behrendt.

LinLi Wan - Project Editor

LinLi Wan was previously a literary agent’s assistant at Alex Adsett Literary, a bookseller at Dymocks and a fiction editor at Voiceworks. She has also interned at The Suburban Review, Brisbane Writers Festival, AustLit, UCL Press and Corella Press. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts/Law (Honours) from the University of Queensland in 2021 and is currently pursuing a Masters of Writing, Editing and Publishing.

Kaitlyn Smith - Royalties and Finance Administrator

Kaitlyn has worked in publishing for almost a decade across multiple fields and publishers. With her range of experience through contracts, royalties, and finance she joined the Pantera Press team as royalties and finance administrator mid 2023.

Connor Parissis - Senior Publicist

Connor holds a Master of Publishing and started at Pantera Press in early 2024.  Connor has worked in federal parliament as a Media Adviser, and before that at Penguin Random House as a Senior Publicist. He’s worked at a number of bookstores and has over six years of book industry experience.