Meet the team – Jane Charlton, marketing manager

Jane Charlton is marketing manager at OpenAthens. Have a read to find out more about Jane’s role, what she enjoys doing outside of work and what she thinks the future holds for the industry, particularly in light of the Corovanvirus lockdown.

Tell us a little about your role at OpenAthens

My main role as a marketing manager is to lead on marketing strategy, planning and campaigns. Understanding our customers’ needs and pain points and how we can help is vitally important to my job. I also keep an eye on emerging trends and competitors entering the market.

I love working at OpenAthens because I’m trusted to get on and do my job. Working in an agile way means I can be flexible and try out new ways of delivering creative marketing campaigns. I actively look for opportunities to work with others to get the best outcome for our customers.

Two new marketing team members will join our marketing team by the end of April. I’m super excited about the opportunities this will create for our team and our growing number of global customers.

What are your hobbies and interests?

My biggest passion is walking in our beautiful countryside and parks. I’m lucky to live next to a park and go for lunch-time walks when I’m working from home. At weekends I go on longer walks with my walking group.

My job is incredibly busy and practicing Iyengar Yoga helps me unwind and keeps mind, body and soul in harmony. I love yoga so much I now go on yoga holidays.

Last year I joined a community choir. We sing mainly folk songs from around the world. My family now reliably tell me they no longer need earplugs when I’m singing!

When I can I like to travel to see other countries and learn about different cultures. New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Malawi are among my favorite places in the world. Japan and Canada are places I want to visit next.

What’s your proudest achievement?

My most recent achievement was successfully launching my first ever award. The Best publisher UX award aims to showcase those publishers that are making great strides to improve user experience. Thanks to everyone who took part and supported me through the process.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given or could give?

Eat well, sleep well and exercise – three basics will help you to stay well. I would also add to that: be resilient, social and kind to overcome any challenging periods in your life.

Who inspires you?

Nelson Mandela is by far my greatest inspiration. During one of the most harshest of regimes, Nelson stayed strong and resilient and peacefully led his country to freedom. I admire Nelson’s resilience, his leadership, his kindness.

What do you think the future of the industry looks like?

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will fundamentally change the way we work and study. These are the areas where I think we’ll see most change:

1. Remote access to content and learning opportunities will no longer be a nice to have, they will be a necessity. Any organization that continues to rely solely on IP-based access will get left behind.
2. Vitally important scientific research will be made freely available.
3. More publishers will implement the RA21 recommended practices to make it simpler and easier for people to access to content and services.
4. International collaboration will increase, particularly in the scientific community.
5. More investment will go into remote working, online services, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity.
6. More industry events will be hosted online or develop into a hybrid of in-person and online where people can join remotely from other locations.
7. Organizations will continue to provide flexible ways of working even after the Coronavirus crisis subsides.
8. Business continuity plans will become live documents that organizations practice regularly. Organizations will also review and update existing plans in light of the crisis and communications will play an important part within this.