Silverchair Invests in Platform and Innovation with Two New Product Executives

Silverchair announced today the appointments of Will Schweitzer as Senior Vice President, Product Management, and Dustin Smith as Director of New Product Development and Innovation. The new roles will be part of Silverchair’s Executive Team and will be responsible both for developing the Silverchair Platform and tools and for investigating new product opportunities.

Will Schweitzer (SVP, Product Management) is responsible for the core Silverchair Platform and ongoing product development in the scholarly and professional space, ensuring that Silverchair remains competitive and differentiated. Will has worked in scholarly publishing for over 16 years, most recently as Director, Product and Custom Publishing at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where he was responsible for product management, product development, strategic planning, and custom publishing for the Science family of journals and its larger publishing program. He previously worked at SAGE, the American Psychological Association, and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

“Silverchair has the right mix of talent, technology, and partnerships to help scholarly and professional publishers adapt to market changes and to capitalize on their online presence,” said Mr. Schweitzer. “I’m very excited to work with Silverchair’s phenomenal team and clients to advance scholarly communication and to help meet the challenges facing authors, readers, researchers, and publishers.”

Dustin Smith (Director of New Product Development and Innovation) is responsible for new product development projects, investigating new lines of business alongside the Silverchair Platform and developing existing assets for adjacent markets. Dustin was most recently Director and Product Manager at The Inovo Group, a strategic innovation consulting firm, where he has directed over twenty innovation projects for Fortune 500s, mid-cap companies, and startups in domains ranging from aerospace-grade composites to advanced biotherapeutics. 

“I’m very much looking forward to working on new opportunity areas where Silverchair’s powerful platform can address unmet needs out in the world,” said Mr. Smith.

“Silverchair had a great year in 2018, with seven major new partners deciding to join the Silverchair Platform. These new appointments and investment are part of a plan to increase that momentum by further strengthening the platform’s capabilities and our services,” said Tim Barton, Silverchair President. “They also give us the opportunity to consider developing new products. Markets and technology in our space continue to develop apace, and Will and Dustin bring terrific experience and skills to lead Silverchair in its development of capabilities and products that help our partners successfully negotiate those changes.”