Voting is now closed. Results will be announced at BIC’s AGM on 23rd November 2023 and on the Board page of our website thereafter.
BIC Member organisations are invited for vote for 2 candidates to sit on the BIC Board from the list below.
Voting opens: 9.00 a.m. UK time, Thursday 9th November 2023.
Voting will close: 5.00 p.m. UK time Thursday 16th November 2023.
Please note any votes received after this time will not be considered.
BIC member organisations should send their 2 votes on the one email to vote@bic.org.uk The email should contain the full names of the two preferred candidates and the name of the organisation voting.
BIC will only accept one email per BIC member organisation.
Should more than one email be received from an organisation, BIC will only count the first one. Subsequent emails will not be counted.
Candidates
Davinder Bedi, Managing Director of BookSource and Board Director of Publishing Scotland
Davinder is the Managing Director of BookSource, the Publishing Scotland distribution subsidiary, and has held this position since 2001.
Since his appointment he has grown BookSource to become an industry leader, internationally recognised for delivering reliable, flexible and cost-effective distribution services to independent publishers throughout the United Kingdom. He is widely recognised within the industry for his expertise and deep understanding of publishing and of book distribution. He is a keen supporter of publishing start-ups.
During his two decades at BookSource, Dav has been instrumental in developing standards and innovation which make trade easy for book buyers, and is known for his passion for ‘helping publishers do business’. Getting books into the hands of readers as easily, as quickly, and as profitably as possible is his personal mission statement.
Davinder is steadfast in his commitment to shaping BookSource as a sustainable, ethical and collaborative business, and his enthusiasm for living in harmony with our planet is unwavering. He sits as a Board Member or Trustee on other charity boards, including Publishing Scotland, and is former Chair of Publishing Scotland’s Sustainable Publishing Group.
Reasons for applying to sit on the board
Leading a company which is at the heart of the sector, I want to help build standards which ensure our collective success for many decades to come. My firm understanding of the transactional nature of our industry and my passion for innovation, easy trading and sustainability, would help bring the importance of collaboration and partnerships to the forefront of discussions.
Matthew Dovey, Director, Ceridwen Limited
As well as working at Jisc, the UK’s expert organisation in the use of digital technologies for tertiary education and research, where I oversee how digital infrastructures can support and enhance aspects of the research lifecycle, I also act as an independent consultant for library technologies and standards. I previously worked at the Oxford University Library Services implementing its library management system and digital library. I have a long involvement in library standards: being a member of the NISO Z39.50 group; one of the instigators of SRW, SRU and the OASIS Search/Retrieve Web Service standard; and a member of the 3M and NISO SIP3 initiatives. I am currently chair of the LCF Review and Technical Groups, and one of its technical editors. I am also a member of the Cabinet Office Open Standards Board.
In additional to running a small private company, I have been chair of the executive board of EGI.eu, a foundation under Dutch law which co-ordinates an international federation of research computing and research storage providers which has an annual turnover of £2M Euro. I have also been chair and secretary of a local Community Benefit Society, and I am currently vice-chair of my local Parish Council. Hence, I am versant in corporate governance and responsibilities.
Having seen the influence of BIC from the perspective of technical development of standards, I am keen to use my broader governance and strategic skills to help ensure broader recognition of BIC initiatives both nationally and internationally.
Richard Elsley, Managing Director, Booksolve Computer Systems Ltd
Richard Elsley is the owner and Managing Director of Booksolve Computer Systems Ltd, a provider of point of sale, stock management and eCommerce solutions for the book trade. Booksolve’s clients include retailers, library suppliers, wholesalers and distributors, primarily in the UK and Ireland.
With over 30 years experience in the trade, and originally a Bookseller running the Bookland chain of 15 Bookshops in the North West of England and North Wales, Richard originally created the Booksolve product in the 1980’s to provide a stock control solution for the Bookland shops. By the early 1990s the product was being sold to other book retailers and a separate company was created for software development, which continues to this day.
Over the years, the purchase of the Merlio, Synergi and Book Manager (UK) systems has helped increase the size and divergence of the client base. The provision of fully integrated eCommerce websites has been a major development in recent years, particularly during and since the pandemic.
BIC is an essential part of the structure of the Book Trade. The trade standards that are agreed are the foundation for electronic trading. The training sessions organised by BIC help promote the use of and increase the adoption of the standards. Having benefited from BIC’s work for many years, becoming a director of BIC would help provide some return, particularly at a time when we are looking to move away from the traditional text-based EDI standards over to web APIs.
Caroline Gorham, Production & Systems Director, Canongate Books
Caroline joined Canongate Books in 1998 and has been on the board since 2001.
She is responsible for Production & Design, Inventory, Metadata, IT and CSR. Work on CSR has led to Canongate recently applying to be a certified BCorporation.
Caroline started her career working for a typesetter selling to UK and francophone publishers. She spent 6 years at Simon & Schuster where she was Production Director before relocating to Scotland and working in print sales for Caledonian international, formerly HarperCollins Manufacturing, Bishopbriggs.
She sits on the BIC Green Supply Chain and Physical Supply Chain Committees, Publishing Scotland’s Sustainable Publishing Group and the PA Sustainability Taskforce.
Canongate also sits on the BIC Metadata Committee and for many years have had the highest level of accreditation.
Although Canongate has grown three-fold we are still an SMC. We have striven to operate according to the best industry practices and recognise how beneficial this has been to our sales, our efficiency and our supply chain. As an SMC we want to use our voice to present a unique set of challenges to industry bodies who work to influence the trade and beyond. The BIC board is an important forum for prioritising projects to benefit its members and currently there are no SMC publishers represented on it.
Matthew Hogg, Commercial Director, Macmillan Distribution (MDL)
Matthew is the Commercial Director of Macmillan Distribution (MDL), responsible for the services provided to its distributed Macmillan Group and Third-Party publishers and their customers as well as the management of carriers, freight forwarders, EDI partners and other service providers.
Matthew has worked in the publishing supply chain in various roles for over 28 years and has been involved in the activities of BIC as a member of its Physical Supply Chain committee, the SCEA Accreditation panel and an active participant in numerous working groups for much of this time.
A champion of best practice and automation with our physical supply chain, with the support of the wider business, Matthew has ensured Macmillan’s continued engagement with best practices and the standards promoted and defined by BIC and its members.