About PLS - The PLS Team

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. Favourite book: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Amy Ellis Head of Rights and Licensing

Amy is responsible for the delivery and ongoing development of PLS’ services including collective licensing, the PLSclear permissions service, and our rights management initiatives. She works closely with publishers to ensure the services PLS provides align with publisher needs as the industry continues to evolve. Favourite book: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Will Crook Head of Policy and Communications

Will leads our communications on policy and business issues. He ensures that PLS engages with policy developments around collective licensing, copyright and other areas related to our work, and represents the interests of the publishers who register with PLS. He joined us in late 2021 after six years working as an assistant and researcher for two MPs, during which he developed an excellent understanding of Westminster and public affairs. Favourite book: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

Mohammed Anisuzzaman Head of IT

Mohammed is responsible for the day-to-day management of the IT systems that support PLS’ work. He also has a central role in our ongoing development and hosting projects. Mohammed joined PLS from New College Capital, where he worked as Systems and Data Management analyst, and also has experience in server maintenance, web development, and network administration. Favourite book: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Richard Guest Head of Distributions

Richard manages the distribution of collective licensing revenue to the publishers who register with PLS. He ensures publishers receive their proper share of the money generated by licences, and also oversees the work of the Publisher Registrations team. He has worked for not-for profit organisations including Tate Modern, DACS and the City Lit, and has a BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art. Favourite books: The City And The City" by China Miéville and C.V.J: Nicknames of Maitre D’s & Other Excerpts from Life by Julian Schnabel

Danielle Williams EA to the Chief Executive

Danielle is responsible for providing day-to-day support to PLS’ Chief Executive and the rest of the PLS team. She worked in the legal sector before moving into publishing. Favourite book: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

Martin Dixon Development & Data Manager

Martin is part of our operations team. His responsibilities include providing core account management services to publishers, including through the PLSe helpdesk. He also helps publishers to maintain their licensing settings, access data and solve payment queries. Martin has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Kent. Favourite books: 1984 by George Orwell and Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks

Katherine Wyatt Account Services Manager

Katherine works in our operations team. She supports core account management services to publishers, including via the PLSclear helpdesk. She also helps publishers to maintain their licensing settings, access data and solve payment queries. Katherine has administrative experience in the education and retail sectors, and a BA in French from the University of Bristol. Favourite books: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Helen Jennings Product Manager

Helen helps to look after our PLSclear services. This involves responding to permissions requests and queries, and providing support to rights holders and requestors via our helpdesk. Helen has previously worked in the financial sector, and has a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Favourite book: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Natalia Kornioukhova Product Manager

Natalia helps manage the day-to-day activities of PLSclear. She is responsible, alongside the co-Product Manager, for delivering development of the PLSclear service, and additionally has lead responsibility over PLSclear’s finance processes. Natalia has previous experience in the arts and heritage sector and has a BA in English Language and Literature from King’s College London. Favourite book: Eve by Cat Bohannon

Esmé Lee External Relations Manager

Esmé is responsible for organising and delivering all of PLS’ events, overseeing our presence at key industry and partner events, and leading our communication and marketing activities. She studied English Literature at Royal Holloway and completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Education at UCL. With a professional background in education and art events, Esmé still has a keen interest in visual arts and painting. Favourite book: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Amy Byrne Publisher Relations Executive

Amy is responsible for managing publisher relations at PLS. This includes coordinating and conducting meetings with publishers regarding all PLS services, such as collective licensing, and acting as the main point of contact for any related issues and queries. She has prior experience in magazine publishing and holds a BA in English as well as an MA in Contemporary Literature and Culture. Favourite Books: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Stoner by John Williams

Kirsty Cassia Account Services Executive

Kirsty is part of the team providing our core account management services to publishers. She helps publishers to maintain their licensing settings, access data and solve payment queries, and also supports the administration of our PLSclear service for publishers and requestors. Kirsty has previously worked in administration and marketing in the visitor attraction sector, and has a BA in Publishing and Writing from the University of Derby. Favourite book: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Carla Roda Permissions Executive

Carla's responsibilities include administration of our PLSclear services for publishers and requestors. She is part of the helpdesk team that responds to permissions requests and queries. Carla’s working background is in customer services, and she has a BSc in Basic Health Sciences and a BA in Languages, Literatures and Cultures from the University of Porto. Favourite book: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Caristia Villanueva Permissions & Operations Administrator

Caristia provides administrative support for the PLSclear and Account Services team. She assists with title queries and updates organised reports of monthly sales transactions to uphold efficient client enquiries. Caristia has had previous experience in legal administration and has managed confidential documents according to GDPR guidelines. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Hertfordshire and continues to explore literatures from around the world. Favourite Book: I Wanna Die But I Wanna Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-Hee and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

James Martin Account Services Administrator

James provides administrative support to the Account Services and External Relations teams. This includes responding to publisher queries, liaising with licensing agents to ensure data accuracy and helping to run events. He has a BA in English Literature from Durham University. Favourite book: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Jamie Allerton Publisher Registrations Executive

Jamie is part of the team running our Publisher Registrations service. This involves locating the publishers for whom we hold revenue, and encouraging all those who have not yet signed up to PLS to do so. Before joining PLS Jamie worked as a business analyst in the financial industry, and he has a BA in Film and Television Studies from the University of Northampton. Favourite book: Nathan’s Run by John Gilstrap

Andrea Graham Publisher Registrations Executive

The Publisher Registrations team’s responsibilities include locating those publishers for whom PLS hold revenue, and encouraging those publishers who are not already signed up with PLS to do so. Andrea has a BA degree in Creative Writing and English Literature from the University of Greenwich and has over ten years of experience in Client Services within the Financial and the Local Government sectors. She enjoys writing prose, poetry and short stories in her spare time, and her favourite book is ‘You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down’ by Alice Walker

PLS Team

Meet the PLS people