Semantico Ltd., the Brighton-based strategic technology partner for the publishing industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of David McNally as Chief Executive Officer succeeding Semantico’s founder, Richard Padley, who steps into the role of Chairman.
David joins Semantico from Macmillan Science and Education where, as Chief Technology Officer, he led business transformations that supported strong growth in its scholarly publishing and education divisions. David has a wealth of commercial experience in digital media and oversaw the success of DC Storm as Chairman. His career spans academic research, software engineering, consulting, venture capital and technology leadership in digital media companies including the BBC.
At Semantico, David will focus the new leadership team on consolidating Semantico as the leading supplier of technology to the scholarly publishing sector, delivering market-leading products, customer service and usability. Semantico’s customers can look forward to new and improved services across our products with enhancements
to our publishing platforms and the launch of SAMS Sigma.
“I’m very excited about the future for Semantico which truly has the potential to become another Brighton SaaS powerhouse. The scholarly market is open for a company offering unrivalled customer service, delivery and quality to establish itself in the leadership position and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”, said David. Semantico also welcomes Lionel Levy as Chief Operating Officer. Lionel has an exceptional track record in service and delivery within the digital media sector. Previously at Sony DADC, Lionel was responsible for the implementation of Sony’s industry-leading video content delivery platform throughout Europe, supporting the evolving requirements within the sector and helping them to meet the challenges of the digital media landscape.
With a career spanning over 20 years in global blue-chip consultancies and leadingedge technology companies, Lionel’s proven track record in digital operational management, solutions and systems delivery, and customer service, will help Semantico reach our goal of providing the best customer service in the business. The executive team is further strengthened by the addition of Dr Jianrong Chen who join as Chief Technology Officer. Jianrong has nearly 30 years of experience in technology and has held senior positions at Macmillan Science and Education, Informa, AEGON and BT. Having worked in several different industries, Jianrong brings a wealth of experience in developing and delivering high-quality software solutions.
Finally, Tasha Mellins-Cohen is stepping up to the executive team as Director of Product & Marketing, bringing her 15 years of scholarly publishing experience to the table. In her time with Semantico Tasha has led the delivery of the latest generation of our industry-leading access and identity management system, SAMS Sigma. Previously, Tasha worked in various roles across the publishing industry, from small societies to large multi-national corporations, and on a wide variety of content types. Tasha has extensive experience in addressing the challenges in delivering optimal digital solutions to publishers’ end users – as well as a deep understanding of the publisher viewpoint.
“As our industry faces the difficult challenges of digital transformation we are supporting our growing customer base by bringing in an exceptionally strong leadership team to ensure that Semantico is positioned to add value for our customers and ensure they succeed in their commercial goals. Between them, this team are proven with deep experience in scholarly publishing and I’m incredibly excited about the future for the company and for the hugely positive impact we can have on our customers and our market.” said Richard Padley, Chairman.
