Bio

About Michael N. Ross

Before establishing Ross & Associates, LLC, in 2017, Michael was the Senior Vice President and Education General Manager at Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., where he led the sales and marketing activities in North America and EMEA (the UK, Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and spearheaded the global product development and technology teams.

Peviously he was the Executive Vice President and Publisher of World Book, Inc., and held executive positions at other publishing companies, including NTC Publishing Group, now part of McGraw-Hill; and McDougal Littell before they were acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He began his publishing career as an editor for Time-Life Books and spent three years at their Tokyo bureau.

Throughout his career, Michael has had leadership responsibilities in all areas of publishing including editorial, technology, product development, sales, marketing, and licensing/partnerships.

His products and publications have had worldwide circulation, have generated substantial revenue over many years, and have won the highest industry awards, including: The Distinguished Achievement and the Golden Lamp Awards from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), now a division of the AAP; the GLI Award, presented at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair; Learning Magazine’s Teacher’s Choice Award; PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award; Parent’s Choice Award; Family PC’s Top 100 Award; and the Software & Information Industry Association’s Codie Award.

Michael is the author of four highly acclaimed books on the business of publishing.

Michael is a Vistage CEO/executive coach. Leaders from diverse industries bring their most difficult problems and sensitive challenges to his Vistage group. Members work together to process pressing issues, challenge assumptions, share wisdom, point out blind spots, and brainstorm ideas. The group serves as a private board of directors with no agenda other than to help each other grow and succeed.

For more information about how his Chicago-based Vistage group can help you take your business to the next level, contact him at michael.ross@vistagechair.com.

Michael holds a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota; an M.A. from Brandeis University; and a certificate from Stanford University’s Advanced Management College.

He lives in the Chicago area with his wife, Kathleen, a special education teacher. They have two daughters and a grandson in L.A. and a son in Chicago.