Daniel Hook is chief executive of Digital Science , a co-founder of the research-information management provider Symplectic , and of the Research on Research Institute (RoRI). A theoretical physicist by training, he still does research in his spare time, with visiting positions at Imperial College London and Washington University in St Louis. As the chief executive officer (CEO) of Digital Science – a company that improves the information and software tools for all stakeholders in the research ecosystem – I use a variety of skills every day.
Many of these are exactly what most people would expect: managing people, reading financial statements – all the usual CEO activities. Thankfully for all concerned, I don’t programme anymore. It’s more than a decade since my code was in a production environment.
However, perhaps surprisingly to some, I do a lot of data analysis. Digital Science’s core strength is our passion for understanding the research world as a route to offering better tools. For me, that means looking at what research is trending, understanding collaboration patterns, and gaining insight into how the scholarly record is changing.
Not only are the data completely fascinating, but they are also the start of so many interesting discussions. Let’s start with what I like least – which is travel, specifically the jet lag. While I do love spending time in different cultures, meeting people and seeing the beautiful nature and architecture in the places that .