At Springer Nature, Inchcoombe Is New President of Research

In News by Porter Anderson

As Harsh Jegadeesan transitions to CPO, chief publishing officer, Steven Inchcoombe becomes president of research.

Steven Inchcoombe. Image: Springer Nature

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

Transitioning to Open Access ‘ at Different Speeds’
As of the first of this month, Steven Inchcoombe has become the new president of research at Springer Nature, a move said by the company to reflect changes in the international research field “as it transitions to open access.”

As Inchcoombe moves to his new role, Harsh Jegadeesan changes his role from that of chief solutions officer to that of chief publishing officer.

His key responsibility in this regard is to be the growth of Springer Nature’s research publishing business, while Inchcoombe’s work is concentrated on relationships with international institutional, funder, and government stakeholders, particularly in “high-growth research countries.”

In a prepared statement, Inchcoombe is quoted, saying, “The world is transitioning to open access at different speeds, and therefore understanding these differences in order to be able to help and support our partners as they transition to open access is increasingly important.”

He refers to the new position as “a key role” and says he looks forward “to working closely with colleagues, customers, and partners” moving toward open access in many parts of the world.

Harsh Jegadeesan

Harsh, in his new C-level role, Jegadeesan says, “Having been a researcher and author myself, I’m honored by this new opportunity.

“With the publishing team at Springer Nature … and my background in the potential of new technology, I’m looking forward” to further developing the company’s work in the field.

Springer Nature CEO Frank Vrancken Peeters says, “Having a strong and senior advocate role at Springer Nature has been on my wishlist for a long time.

“With his passion for publishing, his deep understanding of the company, and extensive skills and experience as a global advocate for Springer Nature with our partners and communities, I could not think of a better person than Steven [Inchcoombe] to fill this role.”

And about Jegadeesan’s new CPO position, he says, “His experience in leading [international] and diverse teams to build digital products, platforms, and businesses, combined with his deep experience in applying customer-centric thinking and technology, will help us scale our operations.”

A Policy Note on Personnel News

Publishing Perspectives receives myriad announcements almost daily of personnel changes at many companies in many countries in our international coverage range. Unlike a publishing-industry news medium devoted to serving one national market or region, our world-industry reach and focus make it impractical for us to try to carry news of changes in companies the impact of which is not internationally felt or in roles and positions below the top, usually C-level positions of defining influence.

At Publishing Perspectives, we limit our coverage of personnel changes to such top-level figures such as these in dominant and/or market-leading companies because such officers will be in contact with peers across markets.


More from Publishing Perspectives on Springer Nature is here, more from us on academic and scholarly publishing is here, and more on digital publishing is here.

About the Author

Porter Anderson

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Porter Anderson is a non-resident fellow of Trends Research & Advisory, and he has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives. He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller. Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com, CNN International, and CNN USA. As an arts critic (Fellow, National Critics Institute), he was with The Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and the Tampa Tribune, now the Tampa Bay Times. He co-founded The Hot Sheet, a newsletter for authors, which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman.