Industry News

Chris Jones has been appointed as BMJ’s next Chief Executive, effective from Monday 6 April 2020.

BMJ is a global healthcare knowledge provider that publishes one of the world’s most cited general medical journals, The BMJ, and over 70 specialty journals. The company also offers digital professional development courses and clinical decision support tools to help health professionals improve the quality of healthcare delivery.

Chris Jones brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience from a very successful career in the publishing and learning sectors. He was previously the CEO of the City & Guilds Group for 12 years, leading its transformation from an Examinations Board operating in the UK to a work-based learning company operating globally. During this time, the group made a number of acquisitions, most notably in digital learning.

Before joining City & Guilds Group, Chris held senior leadership positions in the US and UK with Harcourt Education and LexisNexis Group.

Chris lives in London and is also Chair of the Activate Learning Group, a large Further Education College Group in the Thames Valley.

Welcoming the appointment, Jay Lippincott, BMJ Chairman said: “Chris was an exceptional candidate, demonstrating effective leadership and an impressive record of achieving organic and acquisitive growth. His enthusiasm for BMJ’s mission and values, together with his fresh energy and perspective, will be invaluable in building on BMJ’s global success and delivering our future ambitions.”

Chris Jones comments: “I am delighted to join BMJ and am passionate about everything that BMJ stands for. It is truly a values-driven company and BMJ is one of the most recognisable and influential brands in the STM world. I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to help grow the company. The calibre of the team, the company’s reputation and authority, and its strong sense of purpose, make this a very exciting opportunity.”

Elsevier, a global leader in information analytics, specialising in science and health, has appointed Gwen Evans to the role of Vice President, Global Library Relations.

Evans will join Elsevier on March 2, and will continue to shape Elsevier’s commitment to better serve libraries with the development of programs that foster greater understanding and collaboration with the librarian community. She will lead multi-stakeholder engagement efforts, including exploring the role of the library in the research process, research data management, patron education, and digital preservation.

Evans was previously the Executive Director of OhioLINK, Ohio’s academic library consortium and state agency under the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Her leadership at OhioLINK, helped deliver the creation of a statewide library-led initiative for affordable textbooks, focusing on a hybrid approach of supporting Open Educational Resources; library resources as no-cost-to-students textbook alternatives; and groundbreaking statewide price agreements with major commercial textbook publishers. As Chair of the OhioLINK Digital Resource Management Committee, Evans spearheaded the successful nominations for the Digital Resource Commons to receive the American Libraries Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy Cutting Edge Technology in Library Services Award, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant.

Evans has more than twenty years of experience working in libraries, including as an associate professor of library information and emerging technologies at Bowling Green State University, the John Crerar Science Library at the University of Chicago, Mt. Holyoke College Library and Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor. She has extensive experience with library technology, including institutional repositories, journal and e-book platforms, and integrated library systems. Evans takes up her new role with Elsevier following the retirement of Jean P. Shipman who previously held the position.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) and IOP Publishing (IOPP) are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Qi-Kun Xue as chief scientific advisor for China.

In the newly created role, Professor Xue will support the IOP and IOPP as they continue to strengthen relationships with the scientific community in China. He will advise on strategic engagement with key decision makers in government and the scientific community and provide expert insight into political and institutional processes.

He will also lead a new Science Advisory Board made up of distinguished academic and industry professionals, which has been formed by the organisations to provide guidance on developments in research and academic publishing throughout China.

Professor Xue is currently Vice President of Tsinghua University, Beijing and President of Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (BAQIS). He is also a Vice-President of the Chinese Physical Society.

He received his BSc from Shan-Dong University in 1984 and his PhD in condensed matter physics from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOPCAS) in 1994.

His academic career began as a Research Associate at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Japan. He progressed to Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University in 1996. Xue received his professorship from IOPCAS in 1999 and moved to the Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, as a Distinguished Professor, in 2005.

In 2016, he was the first recipient of the Physical Science Award of the new Future Science Prize – China’s first non-governmental science award – for his groundbreaking discoveries of novel quantum phenomena using molecular beam epitaxy, including quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and monolayer FeSe superconductivity.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Xue, said: “Thanks to substantial investment, and the hard work and dedicated focus of its research community, China is at the forefront of science globally. I am very proud to be helping the Institute of Physics and IOP Publishing in their efforts to forge closer working relationships with the scientific community in China.”

Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive Officer at the Institute of Physics, said: “We are honoured that Professor Xue has agreed to become our first chief scientific advisor for China. It’s extremely important for us to strengthen and develop our links with China’s scientific community, to enable us to learn from one another and foster greater collaboration. I’m looking forward to working closely with Professor Xue and the Advisory Board in the coming years to achieve this.”

Antonia Seymour, Director of Publishing at IOP Publishing, said: “At IOP Publishing we’re very fortunate to have published some of the most significant research from scientists in China, many of whom are considered world leaders in their fields. Alongside our colleagues at IOP, we feel very privileged to have access to the advice and guidance of Professor Xue as we work to build our links with the Chinese research community.”

Macmillan Learning has announced the resignation of CEO Ken Michaels. Michaels was appointed Chief Executive to Macmillan Learning in April 2015, following his tenure as Chief Operating Officer for Macmillan’s global education unit. After Michaels’ appointment, Macmillan Learning has enjoyed a period of solid growth and innovation.

Following Michaels’ departure, Macmillan Learning General Manager Susan Winslow will lead the company with the group’s senior leadership team. They will report to Macmillan CEO John Sargent.

Michaels joined Macmillan in 2013 from Hachette Book Group (HBG), where he was President and COO. He is a former Chairman of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). He has more than 30 years of industry-changing accomplishments at the top trade, educational, and scholarly publishing companies, with senior roles at The McGraw Hill Companies and Hachette Book Group.

Scholarly publishing technology provider, HighWire, today announced the appointment of Tim Bacci as President and Chief Executive Officer.

Tim joins HighWire with over 25 years of operational and transactional experience in technology companies in all stages of growth, both public and private. He most recently served as President and CEO of software and information services company Daegis, Inc., leading to its successful acquisition by OpenText, a global leader in Enterprise Information Management. Tim has extensive experience as a consultant to executive teams and venture investors in both early and later stage application-centric software companies and has deep expertise in the enterprise SaaS, infrastructure and IT segments.

Founded in 1995 at Stanford University during the early days of the web, HighWire has led the evolution of digital publishing since 1995, providing the scholarly publishing community with innovative technology and market-leading capabilities.

During its 25 years of operation, HighWire has become a strong and profitable company backed by Stanford University and leading Silicon Valley private equity firm Accel-KKR, who acquired a stake in the organization in 2014. Over the last five years, Accel-KKR has funded almost $20M to enhance HighWire’s infrastructure which now provides the most current, the most reliable and the fastest technology hosting service in the industry.

John Sack, Founding Director of HighWire and recently named to the Board of Directors, welcomed the appointment of Tim Bacci to lead HighWire into its next stage of growth: “We are delighted to have someone of Tim’s calibre and experience. In addition to being a strong customer-focused leader, he is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution. I look forward to working with him closely as he absorbs the nuances of scholarly publishing and hits the road to meet with our valued customers in the coming weeks.”

“I am honored and excited to lead HighWire and our dedicated and talented team into our next stage of growth,” said Tim Bacci. “Balancing the partnership of technology with best practices to meet the dynamic challenges of the unique and rewarding scholarly publishing community is what HighWire does best. I sincerely believe in continuing to better enable the science and discovery of tomorrow by focusing on innovation in publishing and research, and I look forward to the opportunity to interact with our customers to better understand how HighWire can not only meet their current and future needs, but exceed them.”

Scholarly publishing technology provider, HighWire, today announced that John Sack, Founding Director, has been appointed to the board of directors.

John Sack started HighWire Press in 1995 alongside Michael Keller, Vice Provost for Libraries & Technology & Learning at Stanford University Libraries. Since its founding, HighWire has led the evolution of digital publishing, providing the scholarly publishing community with innovative technology and market-leading capabilities.

During John’s 25-year tenure, HighWire has become a strong and profitable company backed by Stanford University and leading Silicon Valley private equity firm Accel-KKR, who acquired a stake in the organization in 2014. Over the last five years, Accel-KKR has funded almost $20M to enhance HighWire’s infrastructure, which now provides the most current, the most reliable and the fastest technology hosting service in the industry.

Park Durrett, Partner at Accel-KKR said: “We recognize that John’s expertise and thought leadership have been major contributors to the company’s longstanding success as a strategic technology partner to our customers across the industry. John is a natural choice for the HighWire board, due to his long-term commitment to furthering the accessibility of scientific, technical and medical content through advanced technology.”

Michael Keller, Vice Provost for Libraries & Technology & Learning at Stanford University Libraries said: “John and I established HighWire over two decades ago, in the early years of the web, during which fundamental changes occurred enabling high functioning web content, making academic journal content more easily accessed, discovered and interpreted. Today, HighWire continues to evolve with new considerations such as the impact of mobile-first use cases, the importance of trust and security, the growth of Open Access and the Plan S initiative, and the rising importance of A.I., text mining and machine learning. What has not changed during that time is HighWire’s commitment to empowering scholarly publishers in their mission of disseminating learning, empowering readers and researchers, and amplifying knowledge across the globe. I cannot think of a better fit than John to assume a position on our board as we look to continue to inform the future of scholarly publishing.”

John Sack, Founding Director at HighWire said: “Since HighWire’s launch of the industry’s first large-scale web-based scholarly journal 25 years ago, I have taken tremendous pride in our accomplishments and I am excited to continue to have the opportunity to expand my contribution to HighWire and the scholarly publishing industry. We at HighWire are deeply focused on the next wave of innovation that will prepare our publishers for a successful future in 2020 and beyond. I look forward to working with our board of directors, our very talented HighWire team members and our fantastic community of publishers to continue building on what we have achieved together.”

The International Association for Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) announced today that its Board has appointed Ian Moss as the organisation’s new Chief Executive Officer. Moss who currently serves as Director of Public Affairs for the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) will take up the position in December 2019.

STM is the leading global trade association for all involved in scholarly communications. Moss joins the organisation at a particularly exciting time, as new publishing models are introduced which alter how researchers publish and share their work.

“After a detailed search process, the STM Board is delighted to have appointed an outstanding individual to lead our organisation and represent our industry around the globe.” said Jason Wilde STM’s current Chair. “Ian was the standout candidate both in terms of his extensive background representing the creative industries, but also his deep experience of developing public policy. We look forward to working with him to positively shape the research landscape.” Moss’s selection marks the culmination of a two-yearlong strategic review, which will see STM adopt a new broader and more inclusive vision and mission. He will lead the revitalisation of the association’s working structures as part of an ongoing evolution to meet the needs of key stakeholders whilst enabling the organisation to continue to serve its members and the wider publishing industry.

Before joining the BPI Moss spent 15 years working in politics and the UK Government: as an elected officer in the National Union of Students, as a researcher in the Labour team working towards the 1997 election; and later in a variety of roles within the UK Civil Service – OFTEL, HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Justice. In 2011 Moss joined the BPI and has worked with its members to navigate the recorded music industry’s fundamental reinvention as a result of digital rights and evolving formats for music delivery.

Speaking of his appointment Moss said ”I’m absolutely delighted by the opportunity to join STM, I am greatly relishing serving a membership that is deeply committed to the future of research. The role that publishers play in the organisation and dissemination of knowledge is fundamental to the trust and integrity of research. There is change in the sector to navigate but also great optimism and I look forward to working in partnership with the research community to deliver sustainable models for the future of formal publication of research.”

Scholarly publishing technology provider, HighWire, today announced publishing veteran Byron Russell is joining the organization as EMEA Sales Director.

Bringing over 30 years’ experience in the publishing industry, Byron started his career at Oxford University Press’ ELT division in Italy. He has held senior positions in sales and marketing with Pearson, Berlitz and Macmillan Learning, focusing on future-facing digital content delivery systems.

Most recently Byron headed the aggregation platform Ingenta Connect and was responsible for launching Ingenta Open, a new referatory and hosting platform exclusively for open access content. He was responsible for driving the development of services, technology and business, and managed Account Management and Client Support teams based across the UK and US.

Alongside HighWire’s UK-based teams, Byron will work closely with Miles McNamee, Vice President of Global Sales, and Matt Pedersen, who joined HighWire as Director of Relationship Management earlier this year. These appointments reflect the company’s ongoing focus on customer-centricity while embedding deep industry knowledge and insight into the organization.

Commenting on his appointment, Byron said: “I’m very excited to join the HighWire team, to develop and support its renowned community of publishers in the EMEA region. HighWire has rich technical understanding of the scholarly publishing landscape, the strongest solutions on the market and a highly experienced team who forge great partnerships and continue to innovate to keep publishers at the cutting edge of digital.”

Miles McNamee added: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Byron, whose wealth of experience will make a huge impact to our customers and our business. Byron’s appointment continues our approach to delivering industry-leading technology coupled with the best people in the sector. I’m proud of the customer and commercial team we’ve evolved this year and energized about the growing digital portfolio we’re delivering for our longstanding and new customers.”

GeoScienceWorld (GSW), a nonprofit collaborative and comprehensive online resource for research and communications in the Earth Sciences, is pleased to announce that Brett Rubinstein has joined the organization as Chief Commercial Officer. As a member of GSW’s
executive team, Brett will work to prioritize and pursue strategic growth opportunities for the benefit of the GSW community and its stakeholder partners.

“As a collaborative and innovative non-­‐profit, GSW differentiates itself in the scholarly publishing industry by re-­‐investing in their partnerships, programs, and mission objectives for the advancement of science,” said Brett Rubinstein. “I am excited to help GSW apply the best of non-­‐profit and commercial methods to develop new, forward-­‐looking products and service models to meet and exceed the expectations of our societies and the international scholarly and
professional research communities.”

Brett brings over 15 years of experience across sales, marketing, business development and operations for STM publishers. He has spent the last seven years at IOP Publishing as Vice President of EMEA Sales and Business Development, and more recently as the Senior Vice President, Head of Americas, responsible for all of IOP’s commercial activities in the region. Prior to joining IOP in 2012, Brett was Vice President, Academic and Library Sales at Springer for seven years.

“As a creative and strategic thinker with a strong focus on fostering collaboration and innovation, Brett will be an indispensable addition to the GSW team,” said Alix Vance, CEO of GeoScienceWorld. “His extensive knowledge and experience in sales, marketing and business development will help us
successfully navigate market changes and provide leading-­‐edge, scalable solutions and growth opportunities to our industry partners to support their financial sustainability and independence to advance the sciences that are core to their mission.”