ProQuest Names New Executive Team

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ProQuest LLC, an information company central to global research and creator of award-winning technologies, has organized into strategic business units designed to provide strong, clear focus on customer needs.  Chief Executive Officer Kurt Sanford, a highly experienced information services executive, joined the company in July and created the new, agile structure consisting of six business units, led by seasoned, proven executives.

"ProQuest offers an unmatched array of products and services for libraries, researchers, and information professionals.  Our momentum is strong and by organizing into strategic business units, we will improve our focus on our customers and markets," said Mr. Sanford.  "Key to the success of this organization is appointing leaders with deep industry expertise and vision in their particular areas of focus.  I'm delighted that we have that level of skill within the organization.  Each of these leaders has built a track record of achievement in their previous roles and helps position ProQuest for stronger growth and performance."  

Rod Gauvin, Senior Vice President and General Manager heads ProQuest ® Information Solutions and is responsible for all library markets. Mr. Gauvin joined the company in March 2001 and brings more than 30 years of information industry experience in reference, professional, trade, and educational publishing to his role at ProQuest. Mr. Gauvin is active in library and community organizations such as the United Way and is a member of the 2011-2012 Executive Board for the American Library Association's ALTAFF division.

Tim Wahlberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ProQuest Corporate Market Solutions leads the corporate market business, including ProQuest Dialog® and also heads up the enterprise-wide strategy and business development function. Mr. Wahlberg joined ProQuest earlier this year from Thomson Reuters, where he held a variety of strategy and operating roles. As Vice President of the Thomson Reuters Corporate Segment, he was responsible for building a rapidly growing business providing information, software and services to legal and compliance departments in corporations.

Michael Gersch continues in his role as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Serials Solutions® while now also overseeing ProQuest's affiliated business, Bowker®.  Together these businesses will comprise ProQuest Workflow Solutions and will focus on opportunities to collaborate around discovery, data aggregation, and analysis services.  Mr. Gersch's background includes general manager roles leading high-growth businesses.  He has extensive international experience in strategy and business development, finance, and market planning, with a particular expertise in mapping user workflow requirements to software service creation.  

Rich LaFauci, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ProQuest Research Solutions, leads the consumer business as well as product brands RefWorks and the recently launched Pivot for research development professionals. Prior to joining ProQuest, Mr. LaFauci led the Technology Capability team for Digitas, directing teams who brought interactive experiences to life and who created the systems to operate and optimize marketing campaigns and programs.  He has more than two decades of experience building and marketing customer applications and managing the underlying technology.

Kevin Sayar, President and General Manager of ebrary®, has led the company from its conception in 1999 to its current position as a leading e-book provider to libraries worldwide. Mr. Sayar continues to focus on building the high-growth business through the development of innovative research technologies and flexible acquisition models.  He previously worked for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), considered the U.S. leader in high technology start-up legal representation, and was an independent consultant to several start-up businesses.

Boe Horton, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of ProQuest East Asia, continues his focus on developing products and services for customers in that region.  Prior to joining ProQuest in 2007, Mr. Horton was chief operating officer and general manager of CSA and held a variety of other executive roles in global sales, marketing, product development and editorial operations at other organizations.  Mr. Horton is based in Hong Kong.

Rounding out the executive team reporting to Mr. Sanford are Phil Evans, Chief Financial Officer; Kevin Norris, General Counsel and Senior Vice President Global Content Alliance; Simon Beale, Senior Vice President Global Sales and Training; and Lynda James-Gilboe, Senior Vice President Enterprise Marketing and Customer Care.  Sy Inwentarz is serving as Interim Chief Information Officer and Jill Hutton is Interim Head of Human Resources.  

About ProQuest (www.proquest.com)

ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information.  Key to serious research, the company has forged a 70-year reputation as a gateway to the world's knowledge – from dissertations to governmental and cultural archives to news, in all its forms.  Its role is essential to libraries and other organizations whose missions depend on the delivery of complete, trustworthy information.

ProQuest's massive information pool is made accessible in research environments that accelerate productivity, empowering users to discover, create, and share knowledge.

SOURCE ProQuest LLC