It was early in 2005 when the idea of starting Optimization Letters came to my mind. It was excellent timing for the launch of a new journal since optimization had been expanding in all directions at an astonishing rate during the preceding decades. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of optimization, new algorithmic, computational, and theoretical techniques had been developed and the need for a new journal to chronicle these techniques was apparent.

Dr. Werner A. Mueller from Springer welcomed my idea of a new journal and enthusiastically supported Optimization Letters (OPTL) from its inception. The first issue of OPTL appeared in January 2007 with papers from world class leading scientists in optimization. During the first 5 years OPTL published four issues per year and in 2012 moved to eight issues with a corresponding increase in the number of pages.

My term as the founding Editor-in-Chief of OPTL came to an end with the last issue of 2012. I am very happy to pass the editorship to Pavlo Krokhmal and Oleg Prokopyev, very capable and enthusiastic young researchers. Both Pavlo and Oleg have served as members of the editorial board of the journal and in doing so have gained good experience with OPTL. It is often said that a change also presents an opportunity and it is my firm belief that the new editors will attract new authors and identify additional exciting areas of research to be published in the journal.

It was a unique and fortunate experience for me to start Optimization Letters. During my years as editor, I have come to understand better the diversity of communities working on different aspects of optimization and to appreciate the richness of optimization as a scientific discipline and as a tool to solve many problems from a spectrum of applications. OPTL has gained an excellent reputation in our profession very quickly, and the journal has a high impact factor.

I would like to acknowledge the excellent support I have received from Springer’s staff during my term as Editor-in-Chief. I thank them for their help, efficiency and professionalism which made my job much more pleasant. I would like to again thank Dr. Werner A. Mueller who helped me in establishing the journal and Vaishali Damle who has been the publisher during my term. Special thanks go to all members of the editorial board for their hard work, guidance, and ideas to improve the quality of the journal. It has been an honor and privilege for me to work with the publishers, editors, authors and all referees of Optimization Letters.

I look forward to the continuing success of OPTL and I will continue to offer my support and guidance to the current editorial board and the new co-Editors-in-Chief.