They have been appointed to lead advocacy initiatives in support of Frontiers’ mission to make all science open, says the company.
The diverse nature of the research communities in Europe and China requires stronger links between academia and policy makers in line with regional or national smart specialization strategies, says Frontiers. It also requires a deep understanding of the different stakeholders and their needs, as well as the willingness to engage and collaborate on all sides.
Over the past ten years, Dr Anke Beck has been at the forefront of open access publishing. As a managing director at Walter de Gruyter, she was responsible for the portfolio growth in both traditional and open access publishing. To maintain a market-leading position in open access book publishing, Anke took the role of chief executive officer of IntechOpen, where she developed new institutional partnerships across academia. In 2018, she was appointed by the Joint Science Conference (GWK) to the German National Council for Digital Infrastructure, and further serves on the boards of leading academic institutions, including the Freiburg Centre for Advanced Studies (FRIAS). Before joining Frontiers, Dr Beck served as the regional director for publishing development at PLOS, where she raised PLOS’ continental profile by liaising with national, supranational, and institutional stakeholders.
“I am excited to support Frontiers with my expertise and my network of professional contacts. Frontiers’ commitment to systematic work with stakeholders of academic communication is paramount. It will allow to jointly develop conditions that foster a sincere and sustainable transition to open access and open science for all,” says Dr Beck. “We need to explore new approaches to the intra-academic dialogue as the market develops – and Frontiers is ready for it.”
Nancy Chen brings more than 12 years’ experience in publishing and information service industry to Frontiers. Previously, she was director of communications for RELX in China, the parent company of Elsevier, where she built corporate communications channels for RELX businesses on the ground. She also served as secretary general of International Publishers’ Coalition in China (IPCC), a non-profit policy lobbying body founded by Elsevier.
In her previous tenure, Nancy led the development of the Chinese based IP Research Center of Alibaba, the world's biggest online commerce company. She started her career as a journalist for Xinhua News Agency, China’s largest central media, reporting Chinese economy to overseas audience.
Commenting on her appointment, Ms Chen mentions, “To me, Frontiers presents an exciting opportunity by which I may explore my contribution to the further advancement of open access in China. With a focus to assist researchers, funders, and public and private institutions transition to open science efficiently and successfully, I am thrilled to be joining the company.”
Frontiers’ chief executive editor Dr Frederick Fenter says, “We are delighted to welcome Anke and Nancy on board of Frontiers; both have hit the ground running and are already making real contributions to our public affairs efforts. They join us at an important turning point in the development of open science, and, as part of this expanding team, they will work to inform thought leaders across the globe of the benefits of open science for research and innovation.”
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