EduLib - Education, Libraries, Publishing & Technology: 2013-08-11

EduLib - Education, Libraries, Publishing & Technology

This is a very occasional blog on education, libraries, publishing and the technologies that support these activities.

The rules that I try to follow when writing this blog are:
1. Try not to waste the time of the reader (hence the long Subject headings).
2. Be informative.
3. If not informative, be provocative & controversial.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Can Digital Directors in Publishing Succeed?

Publishers and Intermediaries have been appointing Digital Directors over the past five years or so, generally asking them to 'take the company digital'. Unfortunately, this has often proved to be an impossible task to complete and a poisonous role to fill. This is essentially because the old-fashioned print business is still the main source of revenues for many publishers and intermediaries (other than the academic journals specialists), and the Digital Director typically struggles to gain influence from the low-revenue, but high-potential side-lines, however important the message may be, and however keenly the company says it wants to hear this message.

About Me

Mark Carden is a business development executive, consultant and recruiter, who has 30 years of experience in project management, software engineering and technology sales.

In the publishing, education and libraries sector he has held international Vice President positions at Publishing Technology, Ingram Digital, Innovative Interfaces, and Dynix.

Mark's career started in software development, project management and consulting; he has worked for several 'blue-chip' companies including Accenture, NatWest Life and Barclays Bank.

He has a BA in Philosophy & Psychology from Oxford University, and has also attended executive education programmes at the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University and the Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

Mark's special interests include: Publishing software, library automation systems, e-books, campus & enterprise portals, hand-held computing, business strategy, how time factors affect company & management behaviours, and the transition of owner-managed businesses into professionally-managed companies.