Ian Potter began his career in research with a degree in the plant sciences from the University of Liverpool, followed by a PhD at the University of Edinburgh investigating the molecular mechanisms of plant cell growth. He then undertook a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut working on the molecular genetics of growth, where he also became involved in several publication and media initiatives. On returning to the UK, Ian worked initially as technical editor for the European Respiratory Journal, and then moved to Blackwell Publishing (or Blackwell Science as it was then). After holding several production and technology related roles at Blackwell, including responsibility for the early roll-out of ScholarOne Manuscripts, Ian joined ScholarOne back in 2003 as a Client Implementation Manager. Ian is now a strategic business development manager for the Publishing and Association markets of Thomson Reuters.