Responsibilities:

• Develop key partnerships with travel partners and manage the relationships within business framework.
• Balance the needs of content partners with business priorities.
• Senior editor responsible for news gathering and determining content mix.
• Manage editorial process and workflow.
• Optimize footprint and features of each content partner.
• Direct daily production of travel editorial for apps.
• Manage content calendar while determining the best way to achieve strong business results.
• Work closely with engineering to enhance feature sets and publishing tools.
• Collaborate with design team to develop creative assets.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 6 years of editorial experience at travel web sites or magazines.
• Proven ability to use content as the vehicle for achieving business goals.
• Three-plus years of experience supplying content for international distribution.
• Ability to successfully work across boundaries toward shared objectives within a matrixed organization.
• Three-plus years of forecasting and metrics-reporting skills.
• Three-plus years of experience with online publishing tools and content management systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, or related discipline is preferred.

Kathy Berlowe

Executive Vice President

kberlowe@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Develop key partnerships with news partners and manage the relationships within business frameworks.
• Balance the needs of news partners with business priorities.
• Act as spokesperson for the company on behalf of consumer-focused apps.
• Senior editor responsible for news gathering and determining content mix.
• Optimize footprint and features of each news partner.
• Direct daily production of news editorial for apps.
• Create editorial standards and practices.
• Manage content calendar while determining the best way to achieve strong business results.
• Work closely with engineering to enhance feature sets and publishing tools.
• Collaborate with design team to develop creative assets.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 10 years of editorial experience at news web sites or magazines.
• Proven ability to use content as the vehicle for achieving business goals.
• Five-plus years of experience supplying content for international distribution.
• Ability to successfully work across boundaries toward shared objectives within a matrixed organization.
• Three-plus years of forecasting and metrics-reporting skills
• Three-plus years of experience with online publishing tools and content management systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, or related discipline is preferred.

Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to Mary Gallatin: mgallatin@bertdavis.com.

Responsibilities:

• Secure a growing number of six- and seven-figure, multi-year SaaS type sales of our products to the most promising enterprise targets across North America.
• Personally close the top accounts and work with the rest of the team’s efforts to build the pipeline, effectively qualify and advance prospects, and close accounts.
• Work with the institutional sales team to identify the highest-value targets.
• Work with the executive team to refine the sales strategies for this channel, especially the most appropriate and effective licensing terms and/or product offers.
• Help recruit, train, and assess all members of the sales team.
• Work with senior management to define product and marketing strategies and priorities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of successful experience in sales and sales leadership of high-value, large-ticket software products and services to higher education customers.
• Track record of meeting ambitious sales targets and building outstanding sales teams.
• Demonstrated success building institutional relationships and successful partnerships with C-level decision makers.
• Track record of success bringing complicated deals to closure.
• Experience and effectiveness presenting to diverse audiences, often on the fly.
• Strong skills in sophisticated negotiations.
• Stellar analytical and communication skills.
• Must be comfortable and effective in a team-driven environment.
• Must thrive on ambiguity and managing complexity.
• Must be flexible and hands-on, with a roll-up-the-sleeves and do-whatever-it-takes approach.
• Must be passionate about improving education and learner access to it.

David Kornacker

Senior Vice President

dkornacker@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Understand the competitive landscape and identify business opportunities for Finance applications.
• Identify key partnerships and help to create the right business framework for those partnerships.
• Understand the needs of finance partners and help model and facilitate new online finance opportunities.
• Determine the right content mix, including developing and maintaining a content calendar.
• Daily editorial production of consumer-focused Apps.
• Track and measure effectiveness of daily programming. Analyze data to refine and enhance the user experience.
• Train a small team of editorial vendors on publishing tools and processes.
• Work closely with engineering to enhance feature sets and publishing tools.
• Work with design to develop the right creative assets.
• Manage editorial process and workflow.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of six years of editorial experience at finance websites or magazines.
• Proven ability to use content as the vehicle for achieving business goals.
• Ability to successfully work across boundaries toward shared objectives; must be results-oriented and have a passion for immersive content experiences.
• Three-plus years of forecasting and metrics-reporting experience.
• Three-plus years of experience with online publishing tools and content management systems.
• Degree or background in journalism, communications, or related discipline preferred.

David Kornacker

Senior Vice President

dkornacker@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Manage the controllership and corporate accounting functions, ensuring strong technical accounting expertise.
• Oversee all accounting research, policy development, and compliance.
• Oversee external financial reporting.
• Manage the process for financial filings with the SEC, as well as issuance of any other external financial information.
• Ensure timely, accurate internal reporting that provides management with useful information to facilitate business decisions.
• Stay current on all technical accounting pronouncements and regulations.
• Create high-performing, customer-oriented, and cost-conscious groups within finance.
• Oversee the tax organization to ensure compliance with all applicable tax regulations, as well as sound strategic tax planning, including international.
• Oversee internal audit function.
• Oversee all transactional areas of finance, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, credit and collections, and royalties.
• Streamline processes to reduce costs, reduce cycle time, and improve quality of financial information produced.

Qualifications:

• At least 15 years of experience in various accounting and financial roles. Public Accounting background is a plus. Knowledge of key financial reporting systems is a plus.
• Must have an undergraduate degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or Economics; a CPA is also required. MBA a plus.
• Proven leadership and people management experience and skills.
• Must have the technical expertise necessary to ensure that financial systems and reporting procedures provide management and all external constituencies with accurate financial results. Must be experienced in the use of information technology as it applies to finance functions. Must have overseen Financial Systems implementations including General Ledger.
• Time spent working in a global organization with geographically dispersed operations is a plus.
• Must have a track record as a strong leader who is comfortable in a changing environment.
• Must be a highly credible, results-oriented, and motivational individual who enjoys working in a hands-on operating environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong analytical skills and understanding of complex accounting issues, as well as demonstrated ability to think outside the box.

Lauren Aaron

Senior Vice President

laaron@bertdavis.com

Linda Rascher

Senior Vice President

lrascher@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Design delivery solutions that improve student test outcomes based on an understanding of the key challenges for both students and instructors.
• Ensure the quality of both the user experience and educational experience with company products and services.
• Ensure the continuous improvement of products and services based on feedback from instructors and students.
• Oversee the coordination of content delivery through multiple delivery channels.
• Accelerate the transition from a primarily print and in-person business to one that is multi-product, multi-format, and multi-channel.
• Drive the organizational and structural changes within the enterprise necessary to meet rapidly evolving market requirements.
• Build and manage high-performance, results-oriented teams based on collaboration and mutual accountability.

Qualifications:

• Understanding of how social learning, social media, collaborative technologies, gaming, and continuous assessment and remediation are changing the current landscape for test preparation and learning.
• Understanding of how customization and personalization are driving change in product development strategies, defying the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to learning, assessment, and test preparation.
• Deep understanding of the empirical and qualitative research and general pedagogy in the field of education or training in the U.S.
• Proven ability to design and implement proprietary research to inform the development of products and services that create sustained market differentiation.
• Proven ability to design and deploy learning platforms that are consistent (regardless of format and channel) and relevant to multiple learning styles.
• Experience in data modeling of educational content.
• Familiarity with XML schemas as related to educational content.
• Proven ability to be an executive business partner and driver of change.
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop staff.
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills.

Scott Lubeck

Executive Vice President / President, Executive Consulting Services

slubeck@bertdavis.com

Kathy Berlowe

Executive Vice President

kberlowe@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Prospect and develop relationships with key decision-makers and conduct a high volume of sales with client executives and agencies in order to effectively build and maintain revenue.
• Strategically define and develop sales opportunities and determine client needs through a process of identifying client marketing initiatives/objectives, client business models, budget cycles, and key decision-makers who influence marketing strategy.
• Develop client relationships directly as compared to largely agency sell.
• Develop and implement sales strategies designed to open new markets, establish category leadership, and expand business.
• Prepare high-quality responses to RFPs.
• Maintain client expectations and meet key deadlines.

Requirements:

• BA or BS degree.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience selling print and digital.
• Proven record of developing new and existing business through face-to-face sales calls and successfully managing a database of prospects.
• Strong negotiation and presentation skills.
• Self-starter mentality.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with a knack for consultative selling.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills conducive to team development.
• Experience in luxury markets a plus.
• Proven track record of meeting and exceeding revenue targets.
• Intelligence, positive attitude, enthusiasm, high energy, and a sense of humor.

Jeanne Bertelle

Vice President

jbertelle@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Generate new business ventures that provide revenue growth and incremental surplus.
• Identify and communicate new business/partnership opportunities.
• Bring approved partners into collaborative roles with the ELT division.
• Negotiate at a senior level to minimize risk and maximize return from these new projects.
• Work closely with market-based staff to create business leads.
• Provide market and product development input based on channel and platform insights.
• Generate licensing revenues for core education markets.
• Provide support and input on the development of digital/online revenue streams.

Requirements:

• Minimum of five years’ publishing experience and five years’ sales management or business development experience.
• Proven negotiation, communication, writing, and organizational skills.
• Good understanding of digital platforms.
• Acuity with numbers and financial measures.
• BA/BS degree required.
• Ability to travel as required.

Scott Lubeck

Executive Vice President / President, Executive Consulting Services

slubeck@bertdavis.com

Jeanne Bertelle

Vice President

jbertelle@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Build and drive an efficient, effective, and comprehensive process for developing financial plans and analysis that links to strategic objectives.
• Manage the financial planning process, including monthly forecasting, three-year business plan development, and annual budget. Act as project manager for the entire budget process.
• Create, implement, and produce a monthly reporting package that includes full financial statements, comprehensive KPI reporting, operational Dashboard reporting, analysis of key business trends, and comprehensive executive-level explanations of variances and trends.
• Create sophisticated financial models that provide financial analysis and decision support to senior leadership on key business components. Advise business leadership of opportunities and risks impacting business performance. Propose potential solutions to complex problems.
• Provide sophisticated financial modeling, financial analysis, and valuation support for acquisitions, new product development, long-term contracts, and other ad-hoc financial projects.
• Review, analyze, and compare monthly and quarterly operating department financial results and key performance indicators against plan and other internal benchmarks, including working capital and cash flow analysis.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Accounting, or related major required. MBA required.
• Minimum three (3) years of progressive financial planning and analysis and corporate finance management experience in high-growth companies. Experience with business unit budgeting and reporting, financial modeling and analysis, and capital budgeting.
• Previous experience using enterprise-wide financial planning systems.
• Exceptional analytical and financial analysis skills with passion for details and “digging in.”
• Strong computer aptitude and proficiency, including expert Excel skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with superior attention to detail. Ability to organize and work with large amounts of complex information, managing multiple priorities.
• Exceptional communication skills with ability to present analysis and findings in both verbal and written formats to all levels of management.

Linda Rascher

Senior Vice President

lrascher@bertdavis.com

Jeanne Bertelle

Vice President

jbertelle@bertdavis.com

The Brand Marketing Director will create, execute, and track the annual success of marketing campaigns for both frontlist and backlist titles. He/she should have a strong foundation in basic book marketing, plus the ability to think strategically. Understanding the principles of brand management and development is important to this position as well.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for managing and executing all marketing activities related to a leading brand, maximizing support for each launch in all formats (hardcover, trade paperback, mass market).
• Consult and work closely with all departments (editorial, marketing, publicity, online, school and library marketing).
• Manage budget, provide quarterly updates on spending, and work closely with sales to monitor coop expenses.
• Work with editors on strategic vision for properties, including multimedia and new technology licensing and distribution.
• Plan for long-range growth through innovative thinking and appropriate analytics.

Qualifications:

• Strong critical thinking skills.
• Ability to work with well-known people and properties.
• Comfort in a high-visibility position.
• Can-do attitude.
• Good diplomatic skills.

Linda Rascher

Senior Vice President

lrascher@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Develop journals budgets for editorial and composition services, and manage multiple departments to ensure the achievement of targets for revenue and net.
• Supervise staff responsible for editorial operations and services.
• Oversee the director responsible for journal production and manufacturing to coordinate the composition and print/digital output of content for journals; interface with IT staff responsible for web publishing technology.
• Responsible for identifying and using new technology for more efficient production and delivery of the division’s journals.
• Work with editorial development in the launching of new journal products.
• Participate in the development of strategic plans for publications and the division.
• Serve as a key representative and/or spokesperson for the society’s interests with both inside and outside parties.

Qualifications:

• College degree in a scientific discipline or equivalent experience; advanced degree or equivalent experience preferred.
• Twelve-plus years of related experience.
• Experience in scientific and professional publishing; detailed knowledge of publishing workflows and production systems.
• Management experience, including experience with strategic planning and large-scale project management (conceiving, recommending, developing, and implementing initiatives in support of strategic plans).
• Experience analyzing effectiveness of work processes, programs, and vendors; supervising and developing staff; and negotiating vendor agreements.

Scott Lubeck

Executive Vice President / President, Executive Consulting Services

slubeck@bertdavis.com

Linda Rascher

Senior Vice President

lrascher@bertdavis.com

Most conferences that cater to the traditional book industry today focus on the
disruption created by the eBook. The eBook – even in its enhanced versions – is
a facsimile of the printed book. Although the digital format is challenging the
business, eBooks aren’t breaking any new ground or rules of the game. If you
want to understand how rapid the world of content consumption, including
reading, is really changing you need to be at SxSW. New forms of narrative
creation like transmedia are responding to radical changes in narrative consumption
that are not fads. According to the conference organizers, 72% of Interactive
attendees are under 40 years old. These are folks who live and breathe content
outside of its traditional packaging.

And, of course, all of this is changing the nature of leadership, management, and
hiring and retaining the talented people that make this happen. This year there
was a campus dedicated to talent management in all of its aspects and many
excellent discussions that I will report on here.

Responsibilities:

• Determine the overall content of the print and electronic versions of the magazine, as well as other online content. This involves planning, selecting, and editing all stories in the publication, and working with editorial colleagues to select all graphical material and photographs, including covers, that appear in the magazine.
• Develop short-, medium-, and long-term strategic plans for the magazine, both its print and electronic editions.
• Ensure that each issue of the magazine fulfills the society’s mission of keeping readers abreast of significant news, events, trends, and activities in the field.
• Prepare annual budgets and monitor adherence to authorized budgets; report to Editorial Board at national meetings.
• Work closely with the division’s advertising sales force to develop long-range editorial calendars and to create ways to attract new and enhanced sources of advertising revenue.
• Write regular editorials on topics of importance to the enterprise to stimulate critical discussion among readers.
• Respond to readers and subscribers of the magazine on matters of editorial concern.
• Travel widely to give talks on the magazine and the industry at large, collect feedback about various user communities, and publicize new features and content of the magazine.

Qualifications:

• B.A. or B.S. in a scientific discipline. Advanced educational training is highly desired but an advanced degree is not a prerequisite.
• Minimum of 12 years in science journalism or scientific publishing, including an extensive background in writing and editing technical information for a wide, technically trained audience.
• Demonstrated experience dealing with this scientific enterprise and/or closely allied sciences across academe, government, and industry.
• Substantial knowledge of display, classified, and online advertising issues.
• Well-honed management skills.
• Familiarity with evolving information technologies for providing online information in an effective manner.
• A positive and engaging leadership style.

Sally Dougan

Executive Vice President

sdougan@bertdavis.com

Larry Eidelberg

Senior Vice President

leidelberg@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Direct financial policies and procedures. Oversee and improve effectiveness and efficiency of sound accounting principles, financial management practices, and systems of internal controls.
• Coordinate the development and maintenance of reliable financial processes.
• Manage the operations and staff of the finance department. Develop a high-performance finance team.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of planning, forecasting, and budget systems, developing and administering the society’s annual operating, investment, and capital budgets.
• Work with department heads and product managers in reviewing departmental results, assessing budget goal attainment, and recommending, developing, and implementing revised strategies and guidance.
• Serve as staff liaison to Board of Directors committees, and make presentations to Board.
• Analyze and interpret monthly financial results/trends, direct the development of financial management reports/procedures, and present findings and recommendations. Oversee preparation of monthly financial results for quarterly/annual financial forecasts.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with outside financial institutions and investment advisors.
• Responsible for preparing for and assisting with the annual external audit and special audits.
• Prepare various financial models and analyses, including creating business models and pricing for products and services, and performing related data analysis for publications, meetings and exhibits, membership, marketing and media, advertising sales, new product development, public policy, international efforts, and customer service.
• Oversee the planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of automated financial systems.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Business; CPA or MBA preferred.
• Twelve-plus years of progressively responsible leadership and hands-on financial, accounting, operational, and analysis experience in a medium- to large-sized society or non-profit. Foundation experience is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving and creative skills.
• Experience in treasury and investment management, and extensive training and experience in accounting and financial management with exemplary quality controls.
• Strong supervisory, organizational, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organization
• Track record of creating a strong staff team and promoting professional development.
• Strong track record of building relationships with other senior managers and department heads.
• Excellent business/financial systems skills and project management experience.
• Strong presentation skills, particularly with boards, committees, and senior management.
• Ability to work and understand details without losing focus on the “big picture.”
• High level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results orientation.

Linda Rascher

Senior Vice President

lrascher@bertdavis.com

Jeanne Bertelle

Vice President

jbertelle@bertdavis.com

Additional areas of focus include:

• Driving major investments in technology;
• Fostering a culture of innovation; and
• Spearheading further development of global strategic partnerships.

Qualifications:

• The selected candidate will have proven success in growing a global business in a rapidly changing, competitive environment.
• Domain experience in the securities trading or financial market data industry is required.
• Knowledge of two specific asset classes (Equities, FX, Fixed Income, Options, Commodities, and Energy) is a must.
• Prior experience in leading a global desktop business or extensive use of desktops in prior workflow is also a must.
• Knowledge of trading workflow to include execution across different asset classes.
• Strong strategic vision, as well as the operating discipline, to drive revenue and profit growth across multiple product lines.
• Prior relationships on the sell side or buy side are an asset.
• Leadership skills to transform the organization and culture to innovate and grow faster.
• Extensive experience managing and analyzing financial results.
• Strong internal and external communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively within a senior executive team in a matrix organization.

Lauren Aaron

Senior Vice President

laaron@bertdavis.com

• Oversee all substantive, strategic, and financial aspects of the press’s publishing program;
• Oversee the recruitment of authors, series editors, and senior staff;
• Build and sustain relationships with important individuals and entities outside the press, including donors, administrators, and faculty;
• Coach department heads and other staff on goal-setting and decision-making in their areas of responsibility and sign off on performance reviews for all staff members;
• Establish policy and procedures for the press on all matters – including intellectual property, peer review, workflow, and scheduling – in the context of a rapidly evolving technological landscape;
• Maintain and develop collaborative relationships and associations in the scholarly, university press, and wider publishing communities.

Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree. An advanced degree is desirable.
• At least 10 years of increasingly responsible management positions in trade/academic publishing and proven expertise in managing financial affairs, including the creation of successful annual and long-range business plans.
• Demonstrated understanding of the mission of scholarly and general publishing and the ability to apply judgment and experience in shaping the press’s editorial agenda; direct editorial experience is a plus.
• Ability to work effectively with the leadership and administration of a leading university.
• Knowledge of all aspects of and trends in book and journal publishing and marketing, and capacity to develop strategies to keep the press at the cutting edge of digital publishing innovation.
• Demonstrated entrepreneurial drive, successful management of professional staff in diverse functions, demonstrated success in fundraising, and successful work with financial and editorial boards.
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal, and oral and written communication skills.

David Kornacker

Senior Vice President

dkornacker@bertdavis.com

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” –Lao Tzu

There are a host of clichés about leadership: “leaders are born not made,” “the mantle of leadership,” “leadership is doing right when no one is watching,” “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things,” and so on.   The fact is that leadership is an ambiguous concept.  There is no recipe for creating a great leader, and while leadership is written about extensively, it is nearly impossible to teach.  It is not a vocation or a skill and no MBA confers leadership on the graduate.   This is because leadership is a quality of being that resists measurement and defies quantification. But, in its absence strategies fail, customers are disgruntled, and stock prices plummet.   The best way to understand and assess a leader is by the impact the leader makes on the entire business ecosystem: the executive team, managers, employees, customers, consumers, and the world at large.

The ROI on leadership is what I intend to follow here by illustrating that impact, whether for good or bad.  The intent is to illustrate and trace the qualities that make leaders effective or disastrous to the organizations that depend upon them.  My focus is on content-centric businesses as they navigate the epic transformation underway, but the lessons can and will be drawn from all businesses worldwide.

Michael Hiltzik’s, in the LA Times, eloquently describes Kodak’s approaching demise in a way that aptly illustrates my purpose. I could easily substitute any number of content-centric companies and organizations that are now at an identical inflection point.

“It’s not uncommon for great companies to be humbled by what the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter called the forces of “creative destruction. Technology, especially digital technology, has been the most potent whirlwind sweeping away old markets and old strategies for many decades. Changing economics and global competition have reduced behemoths of the past, such as General Motors, into mice of the present.

Then came digital. Far from scorning the new technology, Kodak ramped up research and development to nearly 10% of sales in the mid-1980s and integrated digital features into its product lines, including video systems, scanners and photo enhancement software.

But its executives couldn’t foresee a future in which film had no role in image capture at all, nor come to grips with the lower profit margins or faster competitive pace of high-tech industries. At one meeting with Microsoft’s Bill Gates to discuss integrating Kodak’s photo CDs with Windows, Kodak Chairman Kay Whitmore fell asleep.”

But building the A Team is not usually a straightforward proposition. Managing change is managing complexity:  there is a business that generates revenue and value to current customers, and then there are the new opportunities and new customer demands that must be rapidly met. Building the A Team in a time of transformation is rebuilding the plane while flying it. There are risks that must be recognized and managed well.

There are no simple recipes for building the A Team. Every A Team member must be strategically defined and, thus, must be related to a clearly articulated strategic plan tied to specific business objectives.  In the absence of this, a major risk emerges: opportunistic hiring. Obviously, changes in a business environment create pain and a heightened sense of need. But, without a clear strategic direction, the tendency is to “throw bodies” at the problem. There is a very high cost to this approach: loss of financial resources and loss of agility and momentum, which result in a loss of competitive advantage.

Here I intend to track the requirements and challenges in building A Teams for content and information-centric businesses.  Where technology is strategic, what are the core competencies and what should be outsourced? Where data and analytics are the driving force in both customer engagement and channel management, what do leaders need to know and do to drive profitable growth? Where content is king, who and how do you lead the development of a robust content architecture?  If online is the primary channel for engaging the customer, what makes your product and service discoverable and valuable? And, of course, this is just the beginning.

In the content-centric businesses of publishing, media, and information, the requirements for talent to navigate digital content creation and distribution are changing and evolving faster than ever before.  Consumers of content—from the general consumer to professionals and educators—are demanding content to be served wherever, whenever they want, and in the format of their choosing.  Yet, few companies in these industries are prepared to meet these demands.

Penguin’s CEO John Makinson recently told a Reuter’s sponsored media conference, “It is tougher to predict how we will be 12 months from now, as an industry, than pretty much at any time that I can remember” and that “structural changes in the industry that were largely outside the control of publishers made it very hard to predict next year’s performance.”

I plan to follow these developments closely with a specific emphasis on identifying the kinds of strategic leadership that provide businesses with greater control over their environments, especially with regard to the predictability that comes from analytics and the value that is created from greater proximity to the consumers of their content.  This will include profiles of the new CEO, illustrations of the strategic importance of the CTO, the new leadership roles required in marketing and sales in the world of social media, and the rapidly emerging role of analytics in understanding and harnessing the incredible velocity and volatility of markets today and well into the future.

The rise of web-based businesses almost 15 years ago illustrate that in times of transformation, talent is the only effective weapon.  During the dot.com boom at the turn of the last century, there were heated battles for acquiring the new talents required to build the innovative platforms, products and services that were becoming the backbone of the Internet.

I was involved in a number of startups when the hiring of web designers, web developers, database administrators, developers, and network administrators (to name just a few) took place at record speed, truly living into the maxim: he who hesitates is lost.  But it wasn’t just technical expertise that was needed.  Managing and scaling new businesses that run entirely on the Web also required the vision, leadership and management experience that comes from seasoning in the field: experiences with both success and failure.  My role was, in fact, to help these businesses fill this gap.

When the dotcom bust came, many said that the war for talent was over, but the Internet bubble of the late 90s was, in retrospect, a mere skirmish.  We are in a time of continuous business transformation where the “steady state” of business as usual is hard to imagine.

Michael Moe, Co-Founder, GSV Asset Management and GSV Advisors, spoke about the transformation in education and educational technology on November 29 at SIIA’s Ed Tech Business Forum and concluded that “the number 1, 2 and 3 challenge are talent, talent, and talent.”

People are central to your strategy. Or, as was posted on the smallbusiness blog several years ago:  If the answer is, “It’s People, Stupid,” what’s the question?   The question is: What is the one most important Critical Success Factor for an organization to achieve success?

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for overall direction of the production, design, illustration, photo research, and composition and manufacturing operations for print and media products – including courses, print books, e-books, ancillaries, custom products, and other derivative works.
• Ensure continuous improvement of workflows by employing technological improvements in our systems. Introduce new systems to allow for repurposing of content in support of digital products.
• Oversee supplier selection to ensure quality, schedule, and budgetary needs of the business and of individual products.
• Maintain excellent author relations in the spirit of shared risk and reward.
• Contribute to establishment of department budget, and ensure that department runs within approved budget.
• Ensure that project budgets are kept in line with approved budgets.
• Investigate, analyze, and introduce new technologies and standards for potential value to the business.
• Recruit, select, and develop internal and freelance staff.
• Create and manage Content Management strategic planning, including coordination of inter-business initiatives. Participate in strategic planning initiatives.

Requirements:

• At least 10 years of increasing responsibility in publishing, plus an additional 3-5 years managing various aspects of the production process. Management experience in a senior role.
• In-depth expertise in print and media production, including copyediting, design, illustration, photo research, composition, prepress, paper, printing, binding, and media technologies. Experience in digital-first/single source publishing.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills, as well as strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, time management, and negotiation skills.
• Staff management and human relations skills. Ability to communicate effectively with technical staff and vendors. Budget management skills; understanding of financial implications of production and manufacturing decisions. Strong project management skills. Ability to work well with colleagues, authors, and staff.
• Bachelor’s degree. Excellent command of English, including spelling, grammar, and usage.

Kathy Berlowe

Executive Vice President

kberlowe@bertdavis.com

Linda Rascher

Senior Vice President

lrascher@bertdavis.com

Responsibilities:

• Participate in the development of strategic plans that will enhance the services offered by the Distribution Center and ensure the financial health of the Distribution Center and its clients.
• Identify and pursue opportunities to add new clients to the Distribution Center.
• Explore new services that the Distribution Center might offer in order to attract and retain clients.
• Keep abreast of new technologies and ensure that operating systems are managed.
• Develop a management structure that ensures effective communication and fulfillment of Distribution Center goals.
• Train and direct staff in new initiatives that add value to client operations and ensure their financial security.
• Develop revenue and expense budgets for the Distribution Center and work to ensure that these are achieved or exceeded.
• Develop and maintain relationships with client publishers.

Qualifications:

• Proven track record as a manager and a leader in a large operation.
• Record of success overseeing a publishing distribution operation.
• Knowledge of all book publishing functions, including systems, finance, warehousing, and production.
• Strong financial, analytical, interpersonal, and communications skills.
• Ability to travel as needed to visit clients, attend conferences, etc.
• Proven ability to work with multiple clients and deliver high-quality services.
• Experience working with the digital delivery of content.
• Up-to-date knowledge of the technologies that support publishing.
• Understanding of the current issues facing publishers.
• Demonstrated leadership and team-building qualities.

David Kornacker

Senior Vice President

dkornacker@bertdavis.com

Scott Lubeck

Executive Vice President / President, Executive Consulting Services

slubeck@bertdavis.com