Move marks fundamental shift for 186-year-old industry leader
Baker & Taylor, the premier worldwide distributor of digital and print books and entertainment products, has hired Amandeep (Aman) Kochar to lead its newly formed Software Products and Services Group.
Previously, each business unit within Baker & Taylor had its own software development staff, which now will be fully integrated under Kochar. As Executive Vice President of Software Products and Services, Kochar and his team will work hand-in-hand with all the business units and teams to ensure aligned strategies and efficiencies in production and delivery.
Kochar comes to Baker & Taylor from McGraw-Hill Education where he was Chief Product Officer and Senior Vice President of Product Development, headquartered in New York City. He brings 11 years of extensive sales, technology, engineering and operations experience in the media, publishing and entertainment industries, along with the leadership necessary to navigate this important endeavor for the Charlotte, N.C.-based distributor.
"The digital age has completely shifted the content distribution landscape," said George Coe, President and CEO of Baker & Taylor. "We must continuously evolve to keep offering innovative solutions for our customers and think more like a software company."
Coe continues, "Baker & Taylor is committed to delivering exceptional digital products and services and this move reinforces that commitment. Aman brings a wealth of talents and is the ideal executive to help lead this new division."
Prior to McGraw-Hill, Kochar served in various sales, product, digital content and solutions roles within the media, publishing and entertainment business at HCL Technologies, a $5.2 billion corporation and one of the fastest growing tech companies in the world. Additionally, he co-founded a successful startup in India called MKAS Media Transformation, which specializes in media consulting and software solutions, training and development, as well as offers capital restructuring and financial consulting services.
With an undergraduate degree in technology and a MBA from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kochar has been recognized throughout his career for exceptional work within the digital space and his innovative approach for transforming businesses through aligned strategies.
"Baker & Taylor is an originator in the industry and I'm honored to have been brought on board," said Kochar. "This company has paved the way for book distribution over the last two centuries, and in recent years has emerged as a major competitor in the digital content realm. I look forward to building on Baker & Taylor's successful track record and am ecstatic for what is to come for this company and the industry itself."
In his new role, Kochar will be responsible for the newly combined Education and K-12 School business and oversee software products and services across Baker & Taylor business lines: Axis 360, Title Source 360, collectionHQ, KnowledgePoint, database licensing, Bibliostat Connect and Collect, as well as Content Café. This includes guiding the entire product life cycle, product/technical development and support, customer service and account management, data licensing and project management.
