Welcoming the future – Pearson Longman Hellas

Contributed by Mersina Malakellis, General Manager Pearson Longman Hellas On the 10th January 2011 Pearson Longman Hellas, which many of you know simply as Longman, changed its structure. What does that mean exactly? It means that after a complete review of the company a number of very important changes were made. The most obvious

change is that our team has become smaller. It also means that we know we have to make changes to the way we operate in Greece to ensure that we can continue to participate in the ELT community. The news I’m sure will not be unexpected to many of you. After all, during the last few years all of us have struggled to operate in the difficult conditions that characterise the Greek ELT market. For that reason I wanted to tell you all a little more about why we have changed and of our hopes for the future. Prior to starting with Pearson Longman Hellas as the General Manager in September 2009 I had been working for Penguin Books in Melbourne, Australia as the General Manager of Dorling Kindersley. Some of my previous long-term roles include Sales Representative and Business Development Manager to name just a few. A child of Greek migrants, I had dreamt of living and working in Greece since my first visit in 1981 and when the opportunity to relocate came up, I took it. My timing though was not perfect. The global financial crisis had made economic conditions difficult everywhere and was followed by the Greek/European crisis. In addition, the ELT market was struggling, but this was no reason not to come back to a country I love. Longman Hellas was established in 1975 and represents a brand that has been in continuous existence since 1724 (that’s an amazing 287 years). Longman was acquired in 1968 by Pearson, another English company, and is now part of the Pearson Education Group. The early years in Greece were relatively successful for English companies such as Longman; global brands were welcomed locally and appealed on many levels. In the 1970s and 1980s Greek teachers used international materials and appreciated the high quality titles published by Longman, and indeed Greeks such as Louis Alexander to name just one, contributed to this international quality. In the 1990s there was a shift towards more Greek-specific titles, and since then we have produced many excellent titles with methodology tailored to the needs of Greek teachers and students. However, the situation in 2011 is very different. The new conditions offer many opportunities and many threats in classic marketing terminology and what is certain is that to survive every organisation involved must either evolve or risk extinction. What worked yesterday is simply history; important to know and acknowledge and as the basis for understanding the present but still only a description of the past. The critical question for all of us is how to ensure that the Greek ELT community and business is sustainable for many years to come.

Everyone involved in the Greek ELT community knows about the current challenges. The general economic crisis means we are all working incredibly hard just to keep the doors of our businesses open. In addition, we must come to grips with changing demographics, regulatory uncertainty, managing the digital/technology transition, meeting the ever-changing needs of our customers, continuing our professional development, understanding how current business practices are harming everyone’s ability to be competitive in the future, and there are many more. Sometimes it is hard to remain positive and motivated even though we know that this is the only way to make it through these tough times. Every business, regardless of its size must in the end, at least earn as much as it spends to be successful and to ensure it continues. The reality for Pearson, and for many other similar companies, is that profit is not in fact the key motivating factor for those who work within these companies. Many of you over the years will have met local Longman representatives: when they called on your schools, at the many exhibitions throughout the country and through events such as the Amazing Minds Seminars. That personal contact would have shown you what I have seen for myself; people who love what they do and are passionate about education, about providing the best possible service and the best books for ‘their’ schools. Pearson Longman Hellas people have always cared deeply about the ELT community and have always taken their responsibilities seriously. This is what we all believe and encourage, and we have always tried to reward properly. The Pearson Longman Hellas team will continue to offer the Greek ELT community excellent quality, service and support. We are determined to meet all of the challenges that come our way in 2011 and to ensure that we meet all of our promises to you. We will keep you updated with our progress, our titles and what we are doing regularly. Please do let us know how you think we are doing. We want to be part of the vibrant Greek ELT community for decades to come…so we are changing, listening and always learning.