Sage Publications CEO to speak at commencement

Blaise Simqu, president and CEO for Sage Publications, will be the speaker at the Moorpark College commencement scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thurs., May 15 on the Campus Center Quad.

Nearly 1,200 students have earned their degrees during this academic year, and more than 300 will take part in the ceremony.

Sage Publications is one of the leading academic and educational publishers in the world. The Sage group of companies includes offices in the United States, London, and New Delhi, India. The company also has The Corwin Press.

Simqu has worked with the Sage organization for 15 years, from 1986 to 1990 and then again from 1996 to the present. He has held a variety of positions from editor to vice president to executive vice president. He was appointed as the CEO in 2004.

Simqu has also worked with the Hampton-Brown Company, Jossey-Bass Publishers, and the Kinko's Corporation.

He serves on the board of KCLU-FM, the NPR affiliate station at California Lutheran University. He is a member of the board of trustees of The Buckley School in Los Angeles. He has degrees from Loyola Marymount University and the UCLA, and is a lifelong resident of California.