About PLS
PLS Board
Meet our directors
The PLS Board oversees our management and strategies, and ensures we are serving the interests of the businesses that trust us with collective licensing.
Our board is comprised of up to three representatives from each of our four governing bodies: the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, Independent Publishers Guild, Professional Publishes Association and Publishers Association. It also includes an independent Chairman, nominated by our board; and our Chief Executive.
Meet our directors
Rosie Glazebrook Chair
Rosie was appointed Chair of the PLS Board in 2019 and reappointed for a second term in 2022. She is also Co-Chair of the Copyright Licensing Agency. Rosie is currently Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, and in 2022 completed five years as a Civil Service Commissioner and second terms as a Council Member at the General Optical Council and Chair of a Research Ethics Committee for NHS Health Research Authority. Before building her extensive non-executive career in the private, public and voluntary sectors, Rosie worked in the publishing world and was a Trustee and Chair of the Development Board of Book Aid International for nine years.
Tom West Chief Executive
Tom has over two decades experience in collective rights management, representing the interests of publishers and promoting respect for copyright, previously as PLS’ Chief Operating Officer. He has played a leading role in the development and implementation of PLS strategy and services; working closely with publishers, licensing partners and other stakeholders to oversee the distribution of over £500m in licensing revenues to publishers during that time.
Wayne Sime Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers
Wayne is Chief Executive of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers. He was previously the Director of Library Services for the Royal Society of Medicine, and has extensive experience in IT and people management. He has also worked within the NHS and the financial sector. Wayne is a Chartered Librarian and became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals in 2009.
Deborah Dixon Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers
Deborah is Editorial Director at Oxford University Press, with responsibility for its portfolio of science and medical journals. Before joining OUP she spent 19 years at Wiley, latterly as Publishing Director for Medical Journals, and she also worked at BMJ Publishing Group. Deborah is a member of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers’ Council, and Treasurer for Evidence Aid, a charity that promotes the use of evidence in humanitarian crises.
Sarah Fricker Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers
Sarah is Senior Group Legal Adviser of the Institute of Physics (IOP) group. She leads a team providing legal advice to IOP companies around the world, on issues including copyright and licensing. She has been at IOP for 19 years, prior to which she worked in commercial and IP law at Eversheds and Bond Pearce. Sarah is non-executive director of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers’ Copyright Committee and is Vice Chair of the Publishers Association’s Law Group, and sits on the STM Intellectual Property Committee and Enforcement Task Force and the Publishers Association’s Policy and Public Affairs Group.
Bridget Shine Independent Publishers Guild
Bridget is Chief Executive of the Independent Publishers Guild. Since joining in 2004, she has steered a doubling of the IPG’s membership and numerous new services, events and resources, including the Independent Publishing Awards and the IPG Skills Hub. Before joining the IPG, Bridget worked for both large and small publishers including Academic Press and Crown House; in literary agenting with Greene & Heaton; and at the Welsh Books Council.
Tim Williams Independent Publishers Guild
Tim is Managing Director of Edward Elgar Publishing, a leading independent academic and professional publisher across law, economics, business studies, public and social policy and the environment. He joined Edward Elgar in 2010, helping to steer the growth of its publishing programme and a digital transition that led it to be named Independent Publisher of the Year in 2017 and 2023. His career began in retail and consumer goods, with a spell in management consulting, before he entered publishing at LexisNexis.
Helen Kogan Independent Publishers Guild
Helen Kogan is Managing Director of Kogan Page, a leading independent publisher for specialist professional communities and for a general Business and Management readership. Prior to her current position, held since 2006, she was a journalist specialising in areas relating to human resources and management. Helen is currently a trustee of Yale University Press (London), has served on the Publishers Association Council for six years, the Advisory Board of the London Book Fair (ten years) and the North-East London Advisory Board of Young Enterprise, a charity supporting business projects and education in schools. She was named in the Bookseller’s top 150 people in publishing 2019. She has also previously been a member of the Book Society’s Management Committee.
Sajeeda Merali Professional Publishers Association
Sajeeda is CEO of the Professional Publishers Association. She previously worked as Chief Revenue Officer for the New Statesman Media Group, where she was responsible for identifying high-value digital opportunities for brands, and has held leadership positions at Euromoney and Incisive Media. Sajeeda is also a board member of organisations including the Advertising Association and the Publishers Audience Measurement Company. She is co-founder of the Amal network, which champions Muslim women in the workplace, and a past winner of the Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership’s Futures Award.
Susan Voss Professional Publishers Association
Susan Voss is the Legal and Compliance Director/DPO for Bauer Media (UK) and is responsible for managing teams across Data Protection (UK and Nordics) and Syndication & Licensing. Susan is part of the legal team and specialises in commercial law, property, copyright, privacy and regulatory compliance issues. She has worked at Bauer Media for 22 years in a variety of compliance roles. She is also a trustee for Bauer Media’s Cash for Kids charity
Matt Cianfarani Professional Publishers Association
Matt is a Managing Director and board member at the Mark Allen Group, a family-owned B2B media and events business specialising in Health and Social Care, Aviation, Telecoms, Engineering, Agriculture and Financial Services. Matt has worked at the company for over 20 years, starting out in advertising sales before roles in marketing, digital, data, academic journals and then as an MD as the Group expanded, making over 25 media and event acquisitions in recent years. Matt is responsible for Rights and Licensing across the entire magazine and journal portfolio at Mark Allen.
Dan Conway Publishers Association
Dan Conway was appointed the Chief Executive of the Publishers Association in August 2022. He spent the last 5 years leading the Association’s external affairs work, acting as the principal political spokesperson for the publishing industry. As part of his previous role at the Association, Dan led the team responsible for policy, public affairs, media relations, research and industry-wide statistics. Prior to his work at the Publishers Association, Dan held a number of public affairs advisory roles over a decade focussing largely in the media and creative industries sectors. He has also worked for an MP and in local government. He graduated from Cambridge University with an English Literature degree and is a firm believer that books and reading can change lives.
Andrew Freeman Publishers Association
Andrew is Vice President, Secondary Schools Portfolio in the School Qualifications Division at Pearson. He leads teams developing GCSE and A-Level qualifications for the UK and international markets as well as digital and print resources and services for secondary schools in these markets. Andrew has spent more than 20 years in senior education publishing roles with Prentice Hall, Collins, Trinity College London and Pearson, as well as four years with art and design publisher Thames & Hudson.
Mark Walford Publishers Association
Mark Walford has been an academic publisher for over 35 years, with most of his career at Sage. After working in production, marketing and editorial roles, Mark has managed Sage’s copyright, contracts and licensing activity for nearly 20 years. He has worked closely with PLS and CLA throughout that period and has been part of the CLA working group that works with CNAC (previously UUK) on the CLA higher education licence. He has been a contributor to Clark’s Publishing Agreement and has sat on a number of publishing industry committees and working groups. He is currently a member of the STM Legal Forum and the Publishers Association Public Affairs and Policy and Sustainability committees.