David Ross

David Ross has developed a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the academic publishing industry, having spent nearly three decades working for major international publishing houses.

At Thomson Scientific, he worked with engineering and materials science monographs and journals, and was based in the US for a number of years after the acquisition of the Chapman & Hall imprint by Kluwer Academic. At Arnold Publishers in London he gained experience in commissioning engineering undergraduate textbooks and, most recently, at SAGE Publishing he has played a pivotal role in acquiring and managing STM and social science journals.

During his 20 years at SAGE, David has also developed considerable experience of corporate acquisitions. As Head of Business Development, he was responsible for overseeing acquisitions from initial offer and contract negotiation, through due diligence, to transition and integration of assets. He also led SAGE’s initial ventures into OA publishing almost 15 years ago, and was a founding board member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) in 2008.

He now holds a senior leadership position at SAGE Publishing as Vice President for Open Research. As well as building a portfolio of OA journals, this includes responsibility for the development of new systems and processes required by the move away from legacy publishing models. He also leads SAGE’s open research policy initiatives, interacting at a high level with funders, policy makers and university leaders.

The academic publishing industry is transforming rapidly, albeit unevenly by discipline and geography. Business models are changing and in order to stay relevant we must adapt and engage with multiple stakeholders, forming broader strategic alliances than we have in the past. The STM Association is uniquely placed to support that change and David would be honoured to be able to use the skills and experience he has garnered throughout his career to assist in that mission.