Profile of the new ALPSP CEO

John Murphy, Championing the case of smaller publishers, Research Information, October/November 2006.  A profile of Ian Russell, new CEO of the ALPSP.  Apologies:  my excerpt focuses on the OA-related bits in a more balanced profile:

[Russell's] track record has been in driving though change in organisations with a strong history, but which needed to modernise to face new challenges. This has included experimenting with open access at the Royal Society as well as introducing a more commercial focus. Learned bodies may have a not-for-profit tax status but very few could continue their activities if they didn't generate a surplus from publishing which could be applied to other areas of their work....

[Sally Morris, Russell's predecessor at ALPSP] thinks that his diplomatic skills will help too. 'At the Royal Society he navigated a very difficult path between what the membership think and what the publishing division think, particularly with issues such as open access,' she commented. 'The Royal Society deals with very distinguished people and I think the solution it has come up with – to experiment to see if it works or not – is extremely diplomatic. Scientists learn by experimenting.' ...

So what sort of things will he be tackling in his new job? 'There are clearly issues that need to be addressed, like open access. This is seen by some as a threat to the traditional business models of publishers but I think it's a shame that publishers have been labelled as being very conservative and unwilling to change. Many of the technology changes that have happened over the last 10 years have been driven by publishers,' he pointed out. 'I will be working as part of the APLSP to try and change some of those perceptions....'