Niels Peter Thomas

Managing Director Books, Springer Nature. Niels Peter Thomas is responsible for Springer Nature’s book portfolio, which includes more than 300,000 academic books across all subject areas and 14,000 new books per year. He is also responsible for more than 600 publishing colleagues worldwide and coordinates the book business across Springer Nature’s renowned book imprints such as Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, J.B. Metzler and others.

His main tasks also include the further development of printed and electronic books, innovative technical features, new business models and workflows. Building on his previous position as Chief Book Strategist, he is responsible for defining Springer Nature’s global strategy to shape the future of book publishing and reading.

Niels joined Springer in 2005 and has worked in various editorial and management positions in Heidelberg and Wiesbaden, Germany, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai, China. While working in Springer’s Beijing office from 2011-2013, he set up a team dedicated to translating and publishing internationally the work of Chinese scholars across a wide range of disciplines. He also acts as a foreign expert for the “China Book International Program” at the invitation of the Chinese government. In December 2021, Niels received a Special Book Award of China from the State Press and Publication Administration of the PR China, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to the academic and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.Niels holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in economics.