Stefan von Holtzbrinck

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Chairman of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, one of the world's largest privately held media companies with revenues exceeding €2.7B; the group's holdings include Macmillan Publishers (among the world's 'Big Five' trade publishers, with imprints Farrar, Straus and Giroux; St. Martin's Press; Henry Holt; Tor Books; Picador), Springer Nature (the world's largest academic publisher, publishing Nature, Scientific American, and 3,000+ scientific journals), and digital media investments. Stefan became chairman in 2000 after serving in various roles within the group; under his leadership, Holtzbrinck has navigated the transition from print to digital media and completed the merger that created Springer Nature in 2015.

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Springer Nature's academic journal publishing model has been a focal point of global debate about open access to scientific research: Springer Nature's journals — including Nature and its family of high-impact publications — charge academic institutions subscription fees ranging from $5,000 to $30,000+ per journal annually, and charge authors 'article processing charges' (APCs) of up to $11,000 per article to publish open access. Research funders including the Wellcome Trust, NIH, and EU Horizon program have pushed back against these pricing models, arguing that publicly-funded research should be freely accessible; the tension between Springer Nature's commercial model and open access mandates has made it a central actor in one of the most significant ongoing policy debates in academic publishing.

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In 2012, the US Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five major trade publishers — including Macmillan Publishers (a Holtzbrinck subsidiary) — alleging conspiracy to fix e-book prices in violation of the Sherman Act; the DOJ alleged that the publishers had colluded with Apple to implement an 'agency model' for e-book pricing that eliminated retail price competition and raised consumer prices by an average of $2-$3 per e-book above prior market prices, costing consumers tens of millions of dollars. Macmillan settled with the DOJ in 2012 without admitting wrongdoing, agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount and accept behavioral remedies regarding pricing practices. Stefan von Holtzbrinck, as group chairman, was responsible for strategic oversight of Macmillan during the relevant period.