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May 23, 2007

Zondervan President/CEO resigns

Bruce Ryskamp will return as interim replacement for Doug Lockhart.

Ted Olsen

Doug Lockhart is stepping down as president and CEO of Zondervan. A press release from the company quotes him saying,

"I consider it a great privilege to have served in this role and to have been a part of the tremendous Zondervan family, which is truly the most dedicated, loyal and mission-minded team of people I have ever worked with. I look forward to a smooth transition and will pray for the continued success of the organization as it strives to achieve its mission and continue its leadership in Christian publishing."

PW Daily unsuccessfully asked why:

Erin Crum, spokesperson for HarperCollins, parent company of Zondervan, declined to elaborate on the reason for Lockhart's departure. "We don't usually discuss personnel matters," she said. Lockhart was not available for comment. Zondervan's sales declined after the enormous success of The Purpose-Driven Life several years ago, but HC CEO Jane Friedman had said that the company was "recovering" in the third quarter.

Longtime Zondervan leader Bruce Ryskamp, who worked at Zondervan from 1983 to 2005 and served as its president for the last 12 years of his tenure, will return from retirement to serve as interim president and CEO.

posted by Ted Olsen | Comments (1)

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"Sales declined after the enormous success of the Purpose Driven Life.." So in other words, Zondervan happens upon a once in a lifetime seller and after it finally dwindles off, the company can't keep producing these stratospheric-like numbers, so the CEO is out? I hope that's not the reason.

Posted By: Ted | May 25, 2007 8:57 AM