Belinda Ioni Rasmussen

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen is CEO of , one of the world's leading independent children's publishing groups, bringing together Walker Books in the UK, Candlewick Press, Holiday House and Peachtree in the US, and Walker Books Australia. Based in London, she leads a global publishing programme spanning beloved picture books such as We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, enduring characters including Wally from Where's Wally?, the hares of Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram, and Maisy by Lucy Cousins, as well as award-winning fiction and young adult publishing, including Angie Thomas's groundbreaking novel The Hate U Give.

Before joining Walker, Belinda spent more than a decade leading Macmillan Children's Books, where she substantially grew the business through a combination of brand-building, publishing innovation and investment in new creative talent. During her tenure, iconic properties such as The Gruffalo and Dear Zoo reached new audiences and achieved new levels of success, while authors including Liz Pichon, Camilla Reid, Andy Griffiths and Tomi Adeyemi joined the list. Under her leadership, Macmillan Children's Books strengthened its position across preschool, fiction and brand publishing, delivering multiple number one bestsellers and industry-leading growth.

Throughout her career, Belinda has combined commercial leadership with a deep belief in the power of children's books to shape lives. She is known for building publishing programmes that balance creative excellence with broad audience reach, nurturing authors, illustrators and characters that become part of childhood for generations. A passionate advocate for reading for pleasure, she has spoken widely about the importance of ensuring all children have access to books and stories that reflect the richness and diversity of the world around them.

Her work is driven by the conviction that publishing should serve all children. She believes that every child deserves access to stories that both reflect their own experiences and open windows onto the experiences of others, and that great books have the power not only to entertain and inspire, but to broaden horizons, build empathy and change lives.