Library Team
Sharing the new KU collections with librarians
Catherine Anderson
Head of Sales
Catherine is growing the OA support at institutions worldwide
Catherine has worked for over 20 years in various Sales roles in Publishing and Library Supply in Germany. After working for international publishers such as Harcourt and Elsevier she headed up the German Sales Team for De Gruyter, based in Berlin. As a trade partner of Knowledge Unlatched when working for the German Library Supply Schweitzer Fachinformationen, she became familiar with the KU concept and passionate about spreading its message.
1) Describe your job in three words. Sales – Global - Interaction
2) What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? Having contact with librarians from all over the world with all of their many varied cultures
3) Best thing about being in the KU office? A small but very vibrant team. Things get done quickly here!
4) Worst thing about being in the KU office? Drinking too much coffee (it’s good here in our new office)
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? A cataloguing librarian (yes really!) in order to better understand how KU titles are catalogued and indexed
6) What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? I think it changed every week, but varied from pop star to chef to rocket scientist. Certainly Sales never figured high on the list
7) Last book you read? Camilla Lackberg, Buried Angels
8) Website you visit the most? Does Google count? If not, then I hate to say it, Facebook
9) What’s in your coffee? Nothing – the stronger and blacker the better
10) Tell us something we don’t know? I’m planning to run the Berlin Marathon this year
Wilson de Souza
Regional Manager Ibero-America, Oceania, Africa and Asia
Wilson is growing the level of OA support at institutions in South America, Southern Europe and the APAC region
Wilson studied Marketing and Human Resources in Brazil. He has been in the book market for 17 years. Started in São Paulo, Brazil where his passion for reading became a career, working in the main Brazilian bookstores. Above all, he believes in the transforming power of knowledge. For him to join the KU team in Germany is an incredible opportunity to participate in a major global change that makes knowledge accessible to everyone.
1) Describe your job in three words. research - knowledge – sustainable
2) What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? Working on Open Access expansion in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries
3) Best thing about being part of the KU-Team? Being part of a highly multicultural team.
4) Worst thing about being part of the KU-Team? There is much to do and time is sometimes short
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? Gene Kelly. Would be nice to know how to dance like him.
6) What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? A vet. I like animals...but I could not bear an operating room
7) Last book you read? The Neverending Story, Michael Ende (always read again!)
8) Website you visit the most? Like to chat with family and friends on facebook.
9) What’s in your coffee? The feeling that I shouldn´t drink too many. But I love it.
10) Tell us something we don’t know? I once did a meditation retreat and were 10 days without speaking. It was a challenge but I learned a lot about myself.
Bob Schatz
Director of North American Sales
Bob is growing the level of OA support at institutions in North America
Bob has been involved in academic bookselling, journal vending and Open Access publishing for decades. His work has taken him to every US state except Alaska, and numerous other countries. A librarian by education, Bob is very active in the library and publishing communities. He was on the editorial board of a major library journal and was a regular columnist in Against The Grain. He has also been a regular presenter at library conferences.
1) Describe your job in three words. Communicate, connect, close
2) What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? Learning what it means to be a productive member of the KU community
3) Best thing about being part of the KU-Team? Having such a compelling story to tell
4) Worst thing about being part of the KU-Team and being on the road? Being nine hours time zones away from the Berlin team
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? Barack Obama
6) What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? A lawyer
7) Last book you read? The Virginian (a western written in the early 1900s)
8) Website you visit the most? BBC News
9) What’s in your coffee? Part decaf, a bit of milk
10) Tell us something we don’t know? I played drums as a kid, have a wife, daughter, two grandkids, two dogs and a cat.
Mirela Roncevic
Director of UK, Northern and Eastern Europe, Marketing
Mirela is growing the OA funding support at institutions in the UK, Northern Europe and Eastern Europe
Over the course of her long career in the book business, Mirela has consulted a range of publishers and libraries and partnered with various companies creating new opportunities for authors, educators, researchers, and librarians. She has also contributed articles, features, columns, and reviews to a range of publications (e.g., Library Journal, Publishers Today, American Libraries Magazine) and has served as managing editor of several book series and journals. Mirela is pursuing a Ph.D. in Information Science, focusing her research on the benefits of open and frictionless access to digital content via open libraries. She is also the author of a new book in ALA’s “No Shelf Required” series: New Era for E-Books and Digital Content.
1) Describe your job in three words. Engage. Clarify. Inspire.
2) What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? Connecting with libraries in new and distant lands.
3) Best thing about being part of the KU-Team? It’s all about Open Access.
4) Worst thing about being part of the KU-Team and being on the road? Not getting on a direct flight to Berlin.
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? Much younger me.
6) What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? Anything that involved books, writing and the pursuit of knowledge.
7) Last book you read? I just re-read The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
8) Website you visit the most? Youtube (for music and inspiring lectures)
9) What’s in your coffee? Just coffee. Strong.
10) Tell us something we don’t know? When not consumed by my Ph.D. research, I write short stories, prose poetry and flash fiction.
Amir Kahana
Account Manager Asia
Amir is growing the level of OA support at institutions in South-East Asia
Amir studied in Israel, Germany and Taiwan. He holds a Master's degree in Chinese Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin. After working for eight years in University Libraries, he joined the KU Team in Berlin to promote Open Access in the region of Asia. For him, promoting the access to high-quality academic knowledge around the world is an essential task in the battle against the rise of “fake news” and “alternative truth.”
1) Describe your job in three words. Exploring new territories.
2) What’s the most interesting thing you’re working on right now? Building the cooperation with Chinese and Japanese stakeholders.
3) Best thing about being part of the KU-Team? Working with people, who believe in what they do.
4) Worst thing about being part of the KU-Team? We are scattered all over the world, and due to time differences we have different working hours.
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for one day? Indiana Jones. He has such cool adventures.
6) What did you want to grow up to be, when you were a kid? A classical musician. I still enjoy playing and singing as a hobby.
7) Last book you read? Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice. I just love the classics.
8) What’s the website you visit the most? Wikipedia.
9) What’s in your coffee? No milk, no sugar. Just coffee, black and bitter!
10) Tell us something we don’t know: Once I had to hitchhike my way through the Pamir Plateau with trucks transporting rusty metal.
Elaine Lambert
North American Representative
Elaine is growing the level of OA support at institutions in North America
Elaine has worked with libraries for the past 13 years, first through Informed Strategies, promoting books and journals from many publishers including the American Accounting Association, Begell House, Cornell, and UC Press to name a few before coming on board with KU in it’s Pilot program in 2013, and has worked with KU in every subsequent round since then. She has appreciated how much KU has grown and expanded over the years and has a strong desire to provide excellent customer service to the libraries she works with. Prior to working with libraries she was an Executive Assistant and database manager for several nonprofit organizations.
1) Describe your job in three words. Informative, challenging, inspiring.
2) What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now? Learning how to navigate new platforms and sales tools.
3) Best thing about being in the KU office? Knowing that we’re making a different in the lives of scholars around the world.
4) Worst thing about being in the KU office? Not being able to work with the team in person, face-to-face (other than on Zoom meetings). In fact, as of yet, I’ve never met any of my colleagues in person.
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? May sound crazy, but my 4-year-old grandson ...oh, to see things through the eyes of an innocent child again.
6) What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid? A good and caring person, no matter what vocation I ended up in.
7) Last book you read? Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng).
8) Website you visit the most? Facebook, it’s the best way to keep in touch with family and friends in this crazy/busy world.
9) What’s in your coffee? Nothing – I’m a tea drinker (and with that, a little sugar and lemon).
10) Tell us something we don’t know? I’ve hiked to the top of Diamond Head in Hawaii three times over the past 30 years. The view never gets old.
Alexandra Brown
North American Representative
Alex is growing the level of OA support at institutions in North America
Alexandra’s professional experience spans the publishing, online education, and public relations industries, having worked in corporate communications, customer service and account management roles. It was during her seven years at Wiley that she was first introduced to the campaign for Open Access. Alexandra is proud to be part of Knowledge Unlatched’s mission advancing OA and is enthusiastic about working with libraries to make scholarly content available to ever wider audiences.
1) Describe your job in three words. The greater good.
2) What’s the most interesting thing, you’re working on right now? Sharing the new KU collections with librarians.
3) Best thing about being part of the KU-Team? The dedication and collegiality of my colleagues.
4) Worst thing about being part of the KU-Team? Time differences.
5) Who would you most like to swap places with for the day? An usher at Hamilton.
6) What did you want to grow up to be, when you were a kid? A veterinarian.
7) Last book you read? To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee).
8) What’s the website you visit the most? The New York Times.
9) What’s in your coffee? Half & Half.
10) Tell us something we don’t know: I’m a country music fan.
Udit Tomar
Indian Representative
Udit is expanding our presence in the Indian market
Udit Tomar holds a Bachelor of Science and spent nine years in the healthcare industry, whilst working with large pharma industry companies, e.g., Sanofi-Aventis, Astra Zeneca, Medtronic and CR Bard. He joined McGraw Hill Education in 2016 as a Sales Manager and since then is working in the publishing field in territories such as North India, Nepal, and Bhutan. He has been working closely with librarians, deans, directors, and faculty members across education ministries, universities, medical colleges and higher education institutions.