MDPI, a leading open access academic publisher, has announced the appointment of Dr. Constanze Schelhorn as its Chief Publishing Officer (CPO). The appointment reflects MDPI’s commitment to strengthening strategic leadership and governance across its publishing activities as scholarly publishing becomes increasingly complex and the company’s journal portfolio continues to expand, now spanning more than 550 titles.
Commenting on her appointment, Dr. Schelhorn said: “MDPI has just marked 30 years of open access publishing, making this an exciting time to take on this role. The scholarly publishing landscape is evolving rapidly, with new opportunities emerging alongside significant challenges. I look forward to working with colleagues across MDPI and our external partners to navigate this evolving landscape, continue developing our publishing practices, and support the research communities we serve.”
Dr. Schelhorn joined MDPI in June 2016 and has held several editorial and publishing roles. Since 2023, she has held leadership roles in publishing, serving as Head of Indexing and later Head of Publishing before being appointed Chief Publishing Officer. Dr. Schelhorn holds a master's degree in physics from the University of Würzburg, and completed her PhD at the Technical University of Munich in collaboration with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona.
Stefan Tochev, CEO of MDPI, said: “Constanze has been part of MDPI for the past decade and brings a deep understanding of both our organization and the wider scholarly publishing landscape. I’ve seen her take on increasingly important responsibilities across editorial, indexing, and publishing with thoughtfulness, expertise, and a clear commitment to quality. As publishing continues to evolve, her experience and perspective will be valuable as we continue to develop our publishing practices and serving researchers and the academic communities we work with.”