David Prichard, known as Skip Pritchard, is an American business executive who serves as president and CEO of

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

, a global nonprofit computer library service and research organization.

Early life and education

Prichard was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and grew up in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

and graduated with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

Career

Prichard held executive positions with

LexisNexis LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...

from 1995 to 2003. As vice president, he focused on business information and risk management solutions for corporations, libraries, and other organizations. Prichard was general manager and senior vice president of sales and marketing at

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

Information and Learning, a global publisher and information provider, from April 2003 to October 2005. From October 2005 to April 2007, he served as president and CEO of ProQuest. In February 2006, an accounting irregularity was discovered, creating financial difficulty for the company. In November 2006, ProQuest sold its Business Solutions automotive division to Snap-on Incorporated for $481 million. The proceeds of this transaction were used to repay debt. Prichard served as COO and then as president and CEO of Ingram Content Group Inc., a print and digital services supplier to the book industry, from August 2007 to June 2012. Prichard was responsible for the $1.5 billion global enterprises that included Ingram Book Group, VitalSource, Coutts Information Services, and Ingram Library Services. Prichard was named president and CEO of

on July 1, 2013. During his leadership, OCLC has expanded their WorldCat Discovery Services as ProQuest added more than 320 million records, enhancing library discovery. The ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Ma ...

'' noted Prichard as "standout example" of CEO engagement on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, writing that he "blogs on leadership and shares insights from his favorite authors – often with no direct benefit to him or his organization." In 2021, Prichard received $2.19 million in total compensation. In 2017, Prichard published ''The Book of Mistakes: 9 Secrets to Creating a Successful Future'', based on stories culled from interviews of "over a thousand unbelievably successful people ranging from politicians to news anchors to sports heroes." Prichard said, "I wrote it from the mistake angle because I actually learned as much, if not more, from people talking about their mistakes. All of us make mistakes, and the wisdom from these mistakes is often more valuable than advice from the supersuccessful."

Publications

* ''The Book of Mistakes. 9 Secrets to Creating a Successful Future''.

ashville Ashville or Asheville may refer to: Places United States * Ashville, Alabama * Ashville, Louisville, Kentucky * Ashville, New York * Asheville, North Carolina ** Asheville metropolitan area ** Asheville School ** Asheville High School ** Ashe ...

Center Street, 2018.

References

External links

* *
'ALA 2017 Spotlight: Four Questions with Skip Prichard'. In: ''Publishers Weekly'', 17 June 2017
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prichard, Skip 1960s births Living people OCLC people Towson University alumni University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people)