Publishing News
People
April 1-15, 2005 Edition PEOPLE Book Industry Study Group, Inc. Announces Two New Directors
New York, NY/03/22/05Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG), a non-profit trade association representing the publishing industry, announced last week that Dominique Raccah and Mike Strauch have joined the companys board of directors. Strauch will replace retiring board member, Lyn Blake, also from Amazon.com, and Raccah will step in representing the interests of mid-sized publishers.
These appointments illustrate the extent to which BISGs Board of Directors, and membership base in general, reflect a true cross section of the book publishing industry, said Jeff Abraham, Executive Director of BISG. Our members use BISG as a forum to debate and reach consensus on a broad array of important issues and we are thrilled to welcome Mike and Dominique to the table.
Appointed to represent the growing number of small to mid-sized publishers, Raccah brings extensive publishing experience to the BISG board. Formerly employed by Leo Burnett advertising in Chicago, Raccah left the agency 18 years ago to start her own publishing company, Sourcebooks, Inc., an independent trade publishing house located in Illinois. Beginning with a $17,000 investment from her 401K, Raccah published a single financial book from the upstairs bedroom of her home. By 2000, Sourcebooks, Inc. was recognized as the fastest-growing publisher in the industry, and was the only publisher on that years Inc.500 list of fastest-growing companies in America.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Board of Directors of the Book Industry Study Group, Raccah said. Independent publishing continues to grow as small and mid-size presses develop and market more and more books that resonate with readers throughout the world. It is essential to the health of our culture that we provide an environment where such innovation will flourish. BISG has an essential role to play in developing and nurturing that environment.”
Strauch, joining the board to replace retiring Amazon.com board member Lyn Blake, brings broad operations and retail leadership experience to BISG. Strauch began his career at Amazon as a manager for the companys Seattle warehouse. Following this, he helped launch the companys direct sourcing team for books, was buying replenishment manager and worked with engineering teams to define the tools and processes used in the forecasting and replenishment of directly sourced books. As Group Program Manager for Supply Chain, Strauch played a key role in the launch of a number of Amazon.coms stores, including Music, Video, Toys, Consumer Electronics, Kitchen, and Hardware. Most recently, Strauch was Director of US Customer Service Operations before rejoining the books team in January 2005.
About the Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is the industrys leading trade association for policy, standards, and research. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For over 25 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community. Learn more about BISG at www.bisg.org.
