DETROIT, Michigan — Brian Kruger, who founded WoodWing USA in 2002 and built the company into one of the leading players in the North American publishing software market, has resigned as the company’s leader to pursue broader interests in the industry. Shawn Duffy, an industry veteran with nearly 20 years of experience in the publishing software business, has been named to replace him. Duffy had previously been serving as Vice President of Business Development for WoodWing USA.
 
“Starting WoodWing USA and helping the company grow has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” Kruger said. “WoodWing is an innovative, forward-thinking company, and I had a chance to work with some of the best people in the business. The future looks bright for WoodWing, and now I’d like to step back and look at the industry as a whole, and explore how information will be consumed in the future.”
 
Under Kruger’s leadership, WoodWing USA brought some of the biggest names in North American publishing into the WoodWing family, including Time Inc., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., as well as dozens of other newspapers and magazines.
 
Duffy said he’s eager to build on the foundation that Kruger established. “One of WoodWing’s greatest strengths is that it’s always looking down the road at what’s coming next — preparing its customers for the future of publishing long before the future arrives,” he said.
 
Duffy brings an impressive resume in the industry with him to the Managing Director position. After serving in the U.S. Army, Duffy received a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University. He began his career in the publishing software industry working for Baseview Products (later part of MediaSpan Media Software) as Sales Director for the Great Lakes region. Duffy was later promoted to Vice President of Sales at MediaSpan before joining WoodWing USA in early 2008.