Vicki’s Scoops for December 29

Are we really saying good-bye to 2017, friends? It is so hard for me to believe. They say each year goes by more quickly, and I know that to be true. Take a minute now before we ring in the new year to check out one final (but good!) scoop for this year.

News from a friend….

Friend and colleague Michael Ross, now President of Ross & Associates, Educational Publishing and Technology Consultants​​​, has entered a new chapter in his career, and he is excited about how he can help those of you in the publishing business, particularly digital publishing, do more, do more things better, improve your organization, thrill your customers, and acquire new ones with a long CLTV. He is also partnering with the very best in the business to make great things happen.

As many of you know, Michael most recently served as Senior Vice President and Education General Manager at Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., where he led the sales and marketing activities in North America and EMEA (the UK, Europe, Middle East, and Africa) with P&L responsibility.

Prior to joining Britannica in 2002, he was the Executive Vice President and Publisher of World Book, Inc. for 11 years, and has held executive positions at other publishing companies, including NTC Publishing Group, now part of McGraw-Hill, and McDougal Littell before they were acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He began his publishing career as an editor for Time-Life Books and spent three years at their Tokyo bureau.

Throughout his career, Michael has had leadership responsibilities in all areas of publishing including editorial, technology, product development, sales, marketing, and licensing/partnerships. His products and publications have had worldwide circulation, have generated substantial revenue over many years, and have won the highest industry awards, including the Distinguished Achievement and the Golden Lamp Awards from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), now a division of the AAP; the GLI Award, presented at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair; Learning Magazine’s Teacher’s Choice Award; PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award; Parent’s Choice Award; Family PC’s Top 100 Award; and the Software & Information Industry Association’s Codie Award.

And he is one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet and to work with! Check out his new website at www.michaelnross.com. Michael, I know you will love your next chapter—many now join me in wishing you every continued success!

So now, friends, as I close the last Snoops column for 2017, thanks for the holiday cards, letters, e-mails, and pictures from many of you! I so love our community!

Please accept my personal thanks to each of you for sharing of your professional and personal stories with me and with all of our friends and colleagues this year. I am grateful for my many dear friends in this industry, and I appreciate all your messages and remarks to me about this column. It is a way to keep us all connected!

As you know, I will be entering 2018 with much anticipated retirement, but I will be writing two last columns in the new year so send me any scoops you have. And trust that this column, connecting our community, will continue. My best to each of you! Till next Friday….Vicki, the Snoop

[Send me your scoops at bighamv@aol.com and be sure to follow me on Twitter @Snoops4Scoops #SheSnoops]