Len Vlahos Appointed New Book Industry Study Group Executive Director

(Press Release) New York, NY (August 18, 2011) — Len Vlahos, currently Chief Operating Officer at the American Booksellers Association (ABA), has been appointed Executive Director of the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG). “Len will provide the leadership and vision we need in this period of significant change as BISG continues to supply research, education and standards that help keep the book ecosystem healthy,” said George Tattersfield, who serves as Treasurer of BISG and chaired the BISG Executive Director Search Committee.

"While I have loved and valued my nearly 20 years at ABA, I'm honored and thrilled to be presented with the opportunity to lead BISG in its mission to create a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry for both print and digital products,” Len Vlahos said. “I look forward to helping
the organization leverage its unique position at the center of the book industry to the benefit of our members, and I cannot thank the members of the Executive Committee enough for putting their faith in me."

Len Vlahos has more than twenty years of bookselling and marketing experience, and extensive experience working with Boards, managing committees and interacting with publishers, booksellers and vendors.
Having served in many roles at the ABA, he was instrumental in the development, launch and growth of ABA's IndieCommerce program (formerly BookSense.com) and oversaw ABA’s ABACUS Study, creating financial benchmarks for bookstore operations. Vlahos also had overall responsibility for ABA’s very successful Winter Institute, a three-day educational conference sponsored by the business community, and was ABA’s point person for e-book and digital projects. For the past two years, he served as a member of the BISG Board of Directors.

"All of us at ABA extend warmest congratulations to Len on his appointment as BISG's new Executive Director,” said Oren Teicher, Chief Executive Officer for the American Booksellers Association. “To say the least, we will miss him a great deal, but are delighted that the wider book industry can now benefit from his enormous talent and vast experience. Len is perfectly suited for this new role; we eagerly look forward to working with BISG and Len to address the many challenges facing the book industry."