Inchcoombe made chief publishing officer at Springer Nature

Steven Inchcoombe, previously managing director of Nature Research Group, has been appointed to the newly created role of chief publishing officer for Springer Nature.

The appointment follows the departure of chief scientific officer Annette Thomas earlier this month. When Thomas' exit was announced, it was revealed that Inchcoombe would henceforth share responsibility for her existing reporting lines with Springer Nature c.e.o. Derk Haank, as well as becoming a board member of the company.

As chief publishing officer, Inchcoombe will now "assume a broader remit within the Springer Nature research organisation than previously".

Inchcoombe joined Macmillan in 2006 from The Financial Times, where he had been UK publisher and m.d. of ft.com. He led Nature Publishing Group (NPG) from 2007 to 2013 and from 2013 to 2015 was c.e.o. of Macmillan’s Science and Scholarly division, comprising NPG, Scientific American and Palgrave Macmillan. He took on the m.d. role at Nature Research Group when Springer Nature was formed in 2015.

Haank commented: “Steven Inchcoombe is a talented and respected leader, as his significant achievements throughout his varied roles in his career to date show. Alongside his strong management team, Steven has the business acumen, wide-ranging experience and track record of success to lead our research organisation forward strategically during what is a transformative time within our industry."

He added: "His deep knowledge of scholarly publishing is complemented by his keen understanding of how this is evolving. Steven was responsible for Nature Publishing Group’s move into open access, resulting in 60% of 2015 research articles on research articles being OA. Most recently he has led the innovative Nature content sharing initiative, the first of its kind in the industry. This vision and pioneering spirit are huge assets to Springer Nature.”

Inchcoombe said: “I’m very much looking forward to taking on this wider role during this exciting and important period for Springer Nature and excited to be working with such an accomplished and dedicated expanded leadership team. Together we are focused on delivering the highest quality content and services to our customers, from institutions to the individual researcher, with insight and skill.”

In a separate development, Springer Nature has also appointed group general counsel Rachel Jacobs to its board. Jacobs continues to be responsible for the company's legal, company secretary and anti-piracy departments. Jacobs joins fellow board members Haank and Inchcoombe, together with chief operating officer Martin Mos and chief financial officer Ulrich Vest.