As Executive Vice President, Niels Peter Thomas is responsible for Springer Nature's book portfolio, which includes more than 300,000 academic books across all subject areas and 13,000 new books per year. He is also responsible for more than 500 publishing colleagues worldwide and coordinates the book business across Springer Nature's renowned book imprints such as Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, J.B. Metzler and others. 

His main tasks also include the further development of printed and electronic books, innovative technical features, new business models and workflows. Building on his previous position as Chief Book Strategist, he is responsible for defining Springer Nature's global strategy to shape the future of book publishing and reading. 

Niels joined Springer in 2005 and has worked in various editorial and management positions in Heidelberg and Wiesbaden, Germany, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai, China. 

In China, he set up an Editorial team of acquisitional editors to publish original works from Chinese scholars starting from 2011, and later in 2021, during the global pandemic he was appointed President for Springer Nature Greater China to connect the Chinese academic community with global activities in difficult times.

In December 2020, Niels received the Special Book Award of China from the State Press and Publication Administration of the PR China, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to the academic and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Niels holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in economics. He is visiting professor at the university “Beijing Institute of Graphical Communication” where is regularly lecturing in publishing studies.