15/09/2025

Meet Philip Kent, recipient of the George Robertson Award in 2025 for his unwavering dedication and contribution to the industry.

How and when did you enter the book industry? 

My non-traditional career in and around the publishing industry began when I was a university student in the late 1970s. 

‘I took a part-time job in a teachers’ college library that changed my career directions forever.’

What has kept you in publishing over the years?

An abiding sense that what I and my colleagues do is for the advancement of knowledge, information and a better society. 

‘I have had extraordinary career opportunities, international colleagues and travel and seen extraordinary advances in technology. But at the heart, it is about people!’

What have been some of your career highlights?

Meeting amazing people like Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web and working with Germaine Greer on the acquisition of her archive for her alma mater, The University of Melbourne.

Technology has also been a constant. As part of my retirement, colleagues discovered a report from the 1990s where I demonstrated the Adonis CD-Rom system to the Chair of CSIRO. It brought together scholarly content from top class publishers in a CD jukebox to revolutionise access to scientific information. And that was just the beginning!

What’s next for your career? Is there a particular project or challenge you'd like to tackle next?

I’m continuing on a number of boards and international/local professional committees, spending half the year based with my partner in Austria and hopefully getting back to unfinished research.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in the industry? How have you applied it?

‘Attend to the people issues and the rest will sort itself out!’ 

Throughout my career some of the most challenging and rewarding issues are resolved through working with people in a dignified and kind approach.

Learn more about other George Robertson Award recipients here.