Wiley Appoints Armughan Rafat as Chief AI and Data Services Officer

Key Terms

llm technical

A large language model (LLM) is an advanced computer system trained on vast amounts of written text to understand and generate human-like language, similar to a very fast, well-read assistant that can summarize documents, draft messages, or answer questions. Investors care because LLMs can speed up research, automate customer support, and reduce costs, while also creating new product opportunities and risks around accuracy, bias, and regulatory oversight that can affect a company’s performance.

r&d technical

Research and development (R&D) is the work a company does to discover new products, improve existing ones, or develop better ways of making things — like a kitchen testing recipes to create a hit dish. For investors it matters because R&D is where future sales and competitive advantages are born, but it also uses cash and carries risk, so R&D spending and outcomes signal a company’s growth potential and uncertainty.

spectral database technical

A spectral database is a curated collection of recorded light or energy patterns that act like fingerprints for chemicals, biological molecules, or materials; each entry links a unique pattern to a known substance. Investors care because companies use these databases for product development, quality control, regulatory filings, and diagnostic tests—access to reliable spectral references can speed approvals, reduce lab costs, and provide a competitive edge in markets that rely on accurate identification.

Proven Leader to Accelerate Wiley’s AI Momentum and Growth in Corporate R&D Markets

HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wiley (NYSE: WLY), a global leader in authoritative content and research intelligence for the advancement of scientific discovery, innovation and learning, today announced the appointment of Armughan Rafat as chief AI and data services officer.

Rafat will lead Wiley's AI and data services initiatives, focusing on developing and commercializing AI-ready content and data products for AI developers and corporate R&D teams. He will report to President and CEO Matt Kissner and join the company's Executive Leadership Team.

Rafat has a proven track record as an innovator responsible for building high-margin businesses and capabilities that convert content assets into predictive data and AI services. Most recently, Rafat served as chief analytics officer at Norstella, where he drove AI-powered innovation in pharma and healthcare. Prior to that, as chief data officer at Clarivate, he led the company's data strategy and operations, delivering intelligence products for life sciences, pharma, financial and legal markets. Rafat also has held leadership positions at the Advertising Specialty Institute and Thomson Reuters, co-founded and sold an ad tech startup, and holds patents for AI and analytics technologies.

This appointment accelerates Wiley's strategic focus on unleashing the power of science by transforming trusted scientific knowledge into practical tools and intelligence that drive innovation and discovery. Wiley's vast and constantly evolving library of scientific content is increasingly in demand to help power new technologies that revolutionize R&D across corporate, academic and government markets.

"Armughan is joining us at an extraordinary time in our trajectory as AI-related demand for our must-have content and data accelerates across industry verticals,” said Matt Kissner, president and CEO of Wiley. “To date, we’ve executed large licensing agreements with the world’s foremost LLM developers, strategic partnerships with top AI innovators and subscription rights projects for R&D-centric corporations building out AI applications. Building on these successes and the strong foundation our teams have established, Armughan will take us to the next level and beyond in commercializing AI-driven offerings and transforming our content and data into high-value intelligence products and services. His is exactly the tested, proven leadership we need as we continue to build out new engines of sustainable and high-margin growth.”

In the past year, Wiley has advanced its position in AI and data services with a variety of initiatives and strategic partnerships. The company has:

• generated nearly $100 million in AI licensing revenue since January 2024, enabling LLM developers to improve the accuracy and impact of their models;
• partnered with AI innovators including Anthropic, Amazon Web Services, Perplexity, and Mistral AI and launched Wiley’s AI Gateway, an interoperable research intelligence platform to power scientific discovery;
• executed subscription licensing agreements with multiple R&D intensive corporations developing vertical-specific AI applications in sectors including pharma and energy; and
• expanded its well-established spectral database collection used in government and corporate labs worldwide.

"I am incredibly excited to be joining Wiley to lead the company's data and AI services initiatives. My career has been spent at the intersection of leading large data transformations, massive data sets and transformative AI," said Rafat. "In an era where AI is only as effective as the data that fuel it, the content Wiley publishes, including nearly 2,000 academic journals, represents the verified, foundational truth that the global market requires to advance. Our focus will be to deliver prescriptive intelligence that transforms scientific knowledge into an actionable catalyst for global progress."

About Wiley

Wiley (NYSE: WLY) is a global leader in authoritative content and research intelligence for the advancement of scientific discovery, innovation, and learning. With more than 200 years at the center of the scholarly ecosystem, Wiley combines trusted publishing heritage with AI-powered platforms to transform how knowledge is discovered, accessed, and applied. From individual researchers and students to Fortune 500 R&D teams, Wiley enables the transformation of scientific breakthroughs into real-world impact. From knowledge to impact—Wiley is redefining what's possible in science and learning. Visit us at Wiley.com and Investors.Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Ed Colby / edcolby@wiley.com

Source: John Wiley and Sons