Two weeks after George Lossius stepped down as CEO of Publishing Technology plc, the company, which is headquartered in the U.K., has promoted Michael Cairns to the position of chief executive officer, effective April 1. Cairns previously was Publishing Technology’s online division chief operating officer, a position he held since May 2013. In that role, Cairns was responsible for the company's ingenta connect portal and flagship pub2web platforms.
Before joining Publishing Technology, Cairns was a managing partner at Information Media Partners, where he consulted for publishers on business strategies and on transitioning to digital. Previously, Cairns served as president of R.R. Bowker for seven years.
Cairns has also served as a board member of the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group, as well as Chairman of the International ISBN Executive Committee.
Publishing Technology has offices in Boston and New Jersey, and provides software and technological services to the publishing industry. In a release, Martyn Rose, Publishing Technology's chairman, cited Cairns’ "market knowledge and expertise in digital" as chief reason for his hire, saying he will "drive the business to deliver the next phase of our strategy.”
Cairns, who lives in New Jersey, will continue to commute between Publishing Technology's U.K. headquarters and its U.S. offices.
