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Annette Thomas (born 1965)[1] is an American-born publishing executive specializing in science publishing, who lives in the United Kingdom. In 2020, she was named chief executive of the Guardian Media Group, but left the role in June 2021.[2]

Early life

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Thomas was born in Washington, D.C. in 1965, and grew up near Washington. Her African American father worked as a pharmacist at the Food and Drug Administration;[3][4] her mother is German.[3] She attended the Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, Maryland.[3] She has a degree in biochemistry and biophysics from Harvard University and a PhD in cell biology and neuroscience from Yale University.[5][1][3]

Career

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In 1993, immediately after finishing her graduate work, Thomas moved to London to begin her career in publishing as a cell biology editor at Nature.[5][1][3] She served as the founding editor of Nature Cell Biology. She became publisher (1999) and then managing director of the Nature Publishing Group in 2000. She was responsible for founding the Nature Reviews series.[1] Other positions that she has held include chief executive of Macmillan Science and Education, as well as leadership roles at Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science citation and abstract search database.[5][1][4]

Thomas is a trustee and member of the governing board of Yale University.[5][6] She is also a past recipient of the prestigious Wilbur Cross Medal, awarded to distinguished Yale Graduate School alumni.[7] She has previously served on the Creative Commons Board of Directors.[6][8]

Thomas was appointed and named chief executive of the Guardian Media Group on 14 January 2020.[9][10][3][11] She began in the role in March 2020. Later that year, Thomas was recognised as one of the United Kingdom's most influential Black People by being included in the 2021 edition of the annual Powerlist.[12][13]

In 2021, Thomas said at a media industry conference "we have quality content in spades ... the job at hand is to now go further by strengthening the growing elements of our business". In May 2021 The Daily Telegraph reported that there was serious conflict between Thomas and editor Katharine Viner about finances and the direction the newspaper should take. The previous year The Guardian announced 180 job cuts.[14] On 9 June 2021, it was announced that Thomas would leave the Guardian Media Group at the end of the month.[2][15] She received £795,000 in severance pay from the Guardian Media Group. It was described as a 'one-off payment and it was reported that she had collected over £1.5 million pounds during her 15 months as chief executive.[16]

Thomas has been appointed as a non-executive director of publisher Pearson plc, from 1 October 2021.[17]

Personal life

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Thomas has lived in the United Kingdom since about 1995, most recently in Cambridge. She is married to a scientist. They have three sons and a daughter.[3][4][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Nature Research executive committee". Nature. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Chief executive Annette Thomas to leave Guardian Media Group". The Guardian. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Ashton, James (30 November 2014). "Annette Thomas interview: Cut out the middle man and bring science straight to the masses". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Waterson, Jim (14 January 2020). "Guardian Media Group appoints new chief executive". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Onwuemezi, Natasha (29 March 2017). "Annette Thomas joins Clarivate Analytics board". The Bookseller. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Annette Thomas, S.B., '93 Ph.D." Yale University. July 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Four Alumni to Join the Distinguished Ranks of Wilbur Cross Medalists". No. 12 November 2013. Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. ^ Park, Jane (10 May 2010). "Welcoming Annette Thomas and Melanie Cornwell to CC". Creative Commons. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  9. ^ Mayhew, Freddy (14 January 2020). "Guardian group names scientist Annette Thomas as new chief executive". Press Gazette. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  10. ^ McCarthy, John (14 January 2020). "The Guardian appoints neuroscientist Annette Thomas as CEO to innovate business model". The Drum. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. ^ Tameez, Hanaa' (14 January 2020). "The new CEO overseeing The Guardian has a Ph.D. in cell biology and neuroscience". Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. ^ Lavender, Jane (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021". mirror. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  13. ^ Siddique, Haroon (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton named most influential black person in UK". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  14. ^ Williams, Christopher (17 May 2021). "Guardian leaders clash over 'who calls the shots'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  15. ^ Field, Matthew (9 June 2021). "Guardian boss steps down in wake of power struggle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Former Guardian Media Group chief received £795,000 in severance pay". Financial Times. 2022-07-20. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  17. ^ Page, Benedicte (23 April 2021). "Thomas takes up Pearson role". The Bookseller. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
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