– Emerald Publishing, the leading publisher of management and social sciences research established in 1967, has appointed Vicky Williams as its new CEO.
Richard Bevan, who has been CEO of Emerald Group (incorporating Emerald Publishing, Research Media, GoodPractice and Towards Maturity) since 2010, will take on the additional role of Executive Chairman of Emerald Group, with its Founder, Dr Keith Howard, stepping down as Chairman after 50 successful years. Dr Howard will remain a member of the Emerald Group Board.
Vicky moving into the Emerald Publishing CEO role will allow Richard to focus on the Group at what is an exciting time, as it looks to develop new markets in the Learning and Development space, and potentially make further strategic acquisitions.
Vicky has held a variety of senior roles at Emerald in her 18 years at Emerald, including Head of Publishing Development, Director of Business and Development and, most recently, Director of People (HR) and CEO of Emerald’s creative agency business, Research Media.
This range and level of experience – spanning editorial, new product and digital development, business intelligence, HR and global marketing communications – gives Vicky unique insight into the challenges and opportunities facing academic publishing, and makes her ideally placed to take Emerald forward to meet them.
Vicky – a Cambridge graduate with an MA in International Business from Leeds Beckett – is also a keen advocate for gender diversity in academic publishing, launching Emerald’s workplace gender diversity programme, Stride, and appearing as a panellist on the issue at international academic conferences and events.
Richard Bevan said: “Vicky is the ideal person to lead and further inspire our scholarly publishing business.
“Sharp-minded, curious, determined, steeped in the academic publishing market and with a great talent for leadership, Vicky has excelled in all the roles she has held at Emerald, and was the obvious choice when it came to choosing the right candidate for this critical appointment.”
Vicky said of her appointment: “I’m extremely honoured to have the opportunity to lead a business packed full of talented and passionate people that put the needs of our communities of authors, editors, librarians, research officers, institutions and their students at the heart of everything we do.
“With this ethos and a changing academic publishing landscape in mind, we look forward to further collaborating with our communities to tackle pressing issues, such as impact, open access, big data, and research funding.
“Equally, we will continue to champion – as evidenced by our recently launched Real World Impact initiative – quality management and social sciences research that can be brought to life in applied real world settings, and to nurture fresh thinking in those subject areas.”
