Steven Hall has informed the IOP council of his intention to retire from his role as managing director of IOP Publishing (IOPP) in March 2021. He will be succeeded by IOPP’s publishing director, Antonia Seymour.
Steven has been managing director since 2010. Under his leadership, IOPP has significantly expanded its publishing portfolio and consolidated its position as a leading open access physics publisher. Today, it employs over 400 employees around the world and its content programme has grown to include over 90 journals across 40 subject areas and a book programme that features almost 500 titles. All IOPP primary research journals now offer an open access option, including 14 fully open journals, and it has transformative agreements in place in 10 countries worldwide.
Antonia joined IOPP in 2018 to define and deliver the publishing strategy and lead a global team of editorial, production and marketing colleagues. She has over 22 years of STM publishing experience, having previously worked for Wiley and before that Blackwell Publishing in a number of senior roles, managing portfolios in Science, Health, Social Science and Humanities across markets and product types.
Paul Hardaker, chief executive officer of the Institute of Physics said: “We are greatly indebted to Steven for the energy and enthusiasm he has brought to his role and very proud of the leadership that he has given, not just to IOPP, but to the future development of the scientific publishing landscape. I know that in his final months with us he will bring his usual drive and determination to see us through this rather unusual year and any challenges it presents.
“Steven will be a tough act to follow, but I am delighted that in Antonia we have an outstanding leader and a very worthy successor. Both the IOPP Board and the IOP Council are delighted to have someone with Antonia’s qualities and abilities to take on the baton from Steven next spring and to keep moving the business forward as one of the world’s leading and most respected physics publishers.”
Steven will work with Antonia and the rest of the leadership team to ensure a smooth handover next March. The process of appointing a new publishing director will begin soon.