Springer Nature Creates Role of Chief Digital Officer to Further Drive AI

NISO Member News

London, UK | October 24, 2024

Springer Nature has created a new senior role to drive the further development of its digital experience for the research community, making full use of leading-edge technologies and AI. Saskia Steinacker will join Springer Nature from Bayer on 1st November 2024 as Chief Digital Officer, reporting to the Chief Executive. This forms part of the company’s wider commitment to using sustainable and innovative technology to develop new products, platforms and services for the community, supporting them as they advance scientific discovery and find solutions to the world’s pressing challenges.  

Saskia will use her over 15 years’ experience in digital transformation to lead the creation of state-of-the-art products and solutions to support researchers, authors, editors, and reviewers across the research and publishing lifecycle. 

Frank Vrancken Peeters, Chief Executive of Springer Nature, said: 

“I am delighted to welcome Saskia to the team. As technology and AI continues to transform our sector, our focus remains on the academic community and their publishing experience. With her wealth of experience, Saskia is ideally placed to help us make best use of this transformation by developing solutions that not only support our authors, reviewers and editors on their publishing journey with us but also meet the wider evolving needs of our communities.”   

Speaking of her appointment, Saskia Steinacker, Chief Digital Officer, commented: 

“Springer Nature’s purpose to accelerate solutions for the world’s biggest societal, environmental, and economic challenges deeply resonates with me. I’m excited to contribute my expertise in technology and artificial intelligence to drive meaningful impact.” 

Saskia will bring together teams who have translated innovation into practical solutions over the last 20+ years, including the development, user experience and roll out of Springer Nature’s new peer review platform, Snapp.  

In addition:  

• Springer Nature’s platforms for research, including SpringerLink and nature.com, supported 3.1 billion downloads in 2023, an increase of 8% year on year. This is the equivalent of 98 downloads every second – some 8.5 million downloads each day.  
• In research solutions, Springer Nature offers authors valuable support, from digital editing and translation to preprints, as well as professional development training via Nature Masterclasses.  
• Its data and analytics solutions provide data and insights to researchers, funders, librarians, institutional leaders, and professionals in the life sciences industries to help them make better decisions. Key products include Nature Research Intelligence, AdisInsight, Springer Nature Experiments and SpringerMaterials.  
• Its services, including Nature Careers and Nature Conferences, enable researchers to find the tools, jobs and insight they need to succeed, and help organisations to attract talent, build their reputation and promote their brand. 

More on Springer Nature’s platforms, solutions, and approach towards technology innovations can be found on its website here and in its annual progress report here. 

About This Organization

About Springer Nature

At Springer Nature, we are proud to be part of progress, working together with the communities we serve to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world. Every day our books, journals, platforms, and technology solutions reach millions of people; helping researchers to uncover new ideas and share their discoveries, health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science, and educators to advance learning. Through our leading brands, trusted for more than 180 years, and our steadfast commitment to the most rigorous standards, we help accelerate solutions to the world's urgent challenges and inspire generations to come. For more information, please visit about.springernature.com and @SpringerNature.