Business News
Ex Libris Appoints Carl Grant President of Ex Libris North America
Thursday 31. July 2008 - A library-automation veteran and open-strategy leader, Grant returns to Ex Libris to head North American operations
Ex Libris Group is pleased to announce that Carl Grant has been reappointed president of the Company’s North American subsidiary, effective immediately.
Mr. Grant brings to Ex Libris more than a quarter century of experience in the library-automation industry. During his previous tenure as president of Ex Libris North America (December 1998-March 2003), tremendous growth was recorded in the region. In addition to holding senior executive positions in a number of library automation companies, Mr. Grant has served on the Board of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and has been recognized by Library Journal as an industry notable. Most recently Mr. Grant founded a company that specializes in open source solutions for libraries. His work in the open source arena will be valuable in the implementation of the open-platform strategy announced by Ex Libris.
“We are glad to welcome Carl back to the Ex Libris management team,” commented Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris Group. “Carl brings with him a commitment to libraries, librarianship, and industry standards, as well as a strong background in sales, marketing, and operations. His experience in open source, a tremendous asset as we continue to implement our open-platform strategy, will serve the Company and our customers well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Robert Mercer for his important contribution to our North American operations and wish him continued success in his future activities.”
“I am excited to be rejoining Ex Libris at such a pivotal point in its evolution,” noted Grant. “The product strategy that Ex Libris has articulated and delivered over the past few years has been right on target in terms of technology and timeliness. I am extremely impressed with the Company’s long-term vision, which is already becoming a reality in products such as the Primo discovery and delivery solution and the Digital Preservation System, as well as in next-generation frameworks, all of which are supported by the open-platform strategy.
“As a strong advocate of open source software solutions, I firmly believe that this movement will change the way software companies work,” continued Grant. “Naturally, I look forward to using my experience in this field to further the implementation of the Ex Libris open-platform strategy and am proud that the Company has chosen to move in this direction. Over the next few months, I will be meeting with customers, many of whom I know well, at user group conferences and industry events, to hear their ideas about this strategy and to determine how we can best meet their overall needs.”
Mr. Grant holds a master’s degree in information and library science from the University of Missouri at Columbia.