Merkel-Sobotta to leave Springer Nature

London | Heidelberg, 3 December 2015

Eric Merkel-Sobotta, Executive Vice President Policy & External Relations will be leaving Springer Nature on 31 December 2015 to take advantage of a sabbatical period and will subsequently pursue new challenges outside of Springer Nature.

Merkel-Sobotta joined Springer Science+Business Media in August 2005 as Executive Vice President Corporate Communications, reporting to CEO Derk Haank. He held this position until the recent merger in May 2015, when he took on the new role of Executive Vice President, Policy & External Relations for Springer Nature. Prior to Springer, he was Director, Corporate Relations at Elsevier in Amsterdam, and worked at APCO Worldwide, the public affairs and strategic communications group, as well as for United Parcel Service in Brussels.

“Over the past decade, Eric has been an ideal sparring partner both for me and also for his senior management colleagues in all matters pertaining to external and internal communications, especially in times of crisis. His deep understanding of political environments, combined with his common sense, forthrightness, creativity and humor will be sorely missed. I would like to thank him for the key role he played in helping to transform Springer into the successful company it is and wish him all the best for his next challenge.” said Derk Haank, CEO of Springer Nature.

About Springer Nature
Springer Nature is one of the world’s leading global research, educational and professional publishers, home to an array of respected and trusted brands providing quality content through a range of innovative products and services. Springer Nature is the world’s largest academic book publisher, publisher of the world’s most influential journals and a pioneer in the field of open research. The company numbers almost 13,000 staff in over 50 countries and has a turnover of approximately EUR 1.5 billion. Springer Nature was formed in 2015 through the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media. Find out more: www.springernature.com