Library information provider OCLC, US, has announced that Skip Prichard, an experienced senior executive in the information services market, has been named the next OCLC President and CEO. He will succeed Jay Jordan, who will retire June 30 after 15 years as OCLC President and CEO.
Prichard has led multi-national organisations that serve libraries across the full spectrum of library services and content needs. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Ingram Content Group Inc., which provides a broad range of physical and digital services to the book industry. Prior to his service at Ingram, he was President and CEO of ProQuest Information and Learning, a respected global publisher and information provider serving library, education, government and corporate markets with offices around the world.
Prichard will serve as OCLC President-elect, effective June 3, and will officially become President and CEO on July 1.
Chemistry Central, an initiative of open access (OA) publisher BioMed Central, has announced that Dr. Alison Willows from the University of Brighton, UK, has joined the Chemistry Central Journal Editorial Board as a Section Editor for environmental chemistry. She currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in analytical chemistry and is also an Associate Lecturer with the Open University.
Dr. Willows research interests are directed towards the development of stand-alone electrochemical sensors for aquatic habitat monitoring; the analysis of heavy metals in the environment and in foodstuffs; and analysis of markers of oxidative stress, with the main aim of overcoming the limitations of current analytical techniques to enable continuous monitoring with little intervention.
Prof. Ronny Priefer from Western New England University, USA, has also joined the Editorial Board. His research interests cover medicinal chemistry, chemical biology and organic chemistry with a specific focus on small molecule design for the disruption of amyloid plaque formation, the development of new antimicrobial agents, and total synthesis of natural products.
Chemistry Central Journal publishes peer-reviewed open access articles in all areas of chemistry. The journal comprises 8 subject sections. These include Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Materials and Polymers and Food Science.
Simon Beale, ProQuest Senior Vice President and General Manager of the company's North American Government, Public Library and Schools unit, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA). The SIIA is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries in the US. He joins the board this month and will bring more than 20 years of North American and global business experience.
Beale has been an active member of SIIA since 2010. He served two terms on the association's Content Board and was co-chair for SIIA's Information Industry Summit. At ProQuest, his leadership and industry knowledge have reportedly been instrumental in bringing the company's increasingly diversified portfolio of products and services to the global marketplace. He had joined the company in 2002.
SIIA seeks to provide global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to the leading companies that are setting the pace for the digital age.
For the past 8 years Marincola served as President and CEO of Society for Science&the Public (SSP), an organisation dedicated to advancing public understanding and appreciation of science, with an emphasis on high school students and teachers. SSP is also publisher of the Science News family of publications. Earlier, Marincola served as the Executive Director of The American Society for Cell Biology from 1991-2005, and on the Board of PLOS from 2005-2011.
The organisation also announced that long-time CEO, Peter Jerram, and Chief Financial Officer, Steve Borostyan, will be leaving the organisation, effective May 10, 2013.
The Board has appointed an interim leadership team effective immediately to ensure that PLOS is able to continue to move projects and strategic initiatives forward. Together with the existing PLOS Executive team, they will govern the organisation until Marincola's arrival.
Content solutions provider Publishing Technology plc, US, has appointed Michael Cairns as COO, Online Solutions Division and member of the executive team.
Replacing Louise Russell, Michael will assume commercial responsibility for the Online business unit, including product development, implementation and client management for Publishing Technology's flagship pub2web hosting platform, the ingentaconnect portal and associated product lines including Information Commerce Software and the Heron elearning resource.
Michael has spent 20 years in digital publishing, having consulted with and managed organisations deep in the transition from traditional print-based media to online delivery. His operations management experience includes C-Level positions with professional information, trade and educational publishers. He has also helped define and launch several start-up content-related businesses and has held numerous advisory and board roles within the industry.
Prior to joining Publishing Technology, Michael was a Managing Partner at Information Media Partners where he consulted for publishers on business strategies and digital transformation, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at MyWire.com, VP, Digital Production at Wolters Kluwer Heath Education, and for seven years served as President of R.R. Bowker.
