Hyatt stated, “Thomas Nelson just finished a successful year with several books on the bestseller lists, including Heaven Is for Real, which has been #1 on the NYT list for 13 straight weeks.  Now is the perfect time to turn the reins of the company over to Mark.”  In his new role, Hyatt will serve as an advisor to company leadership and represent the company by positively influencing authors, the media, and consumers while more actively pursuing his outside interests such as speaking and writing.

Hyatt went on to say, “Mark Schoenwald is esteemed by employees, authors, and customers.  He is direct and willing to make the tough decisions, but at the same time humble and committed to our Christian mission.  He has proven time and again that he can succeed in a tough environment.  He is the right CEO to take Nelson into a new era.”

Prior to joining Thomas Nelson in 2005, Schoenwald served as President of several prestigious home décor, garden and gift companies including New Creative Enterprises, One Coast Network, and Kennedy Group.  Earlier in his career, he served in multiple roles with Lenox Brands.

“Thomas Nelson is focused on growth,” stated Schoenwald, “and we strive to be the leading producer of Christian content and inspirational live events.  We will continue to transform the company as we leverage the strengths of our traditional print business while implementing new digital publishing strategies.  Through focus on innovation and execution, we will develop our content in any format and delivery method our customers desire.  The company will embrace change, and we will move quickly to scale new ideas and opportunities that will be available in this rapidly changing business environment.”

Schoenwald also said, “As Thomas Nelson enters its 214^th year of business, we have never been more excited about our future.  We must maximize our growth opportunities in markets around the world, many of which already contribute to our results.”

Norman began his career at Thomas Nelson more than 6 years ago, working as an associate editor at Cool Springs Press. During his time at Nelson he has worked closely with some of the company’s major authors, including Donald Miller, Sheila Walsh, John MacArthur, and Marcus Buckingham. He has most recently been serving as Associate Acquisitions Editor.

“Over the past year our team has worked hard to improve the foundation of our publishing program and to position ourselves for growth. Bryan has been instrumental in developing many of the strategies and tools that have strengthened our business during this time,” said Brian Hampton, Senior Vice President and Publisher. “Bryan’s solid publishing experience, his creativity, and his editorial and people skills make him uniquely suited to this new role. Over the past 5 years, I have had the pleasure of seeing how his commitment to developing high-quality, inspiring books for serious readers and his servant leadership style have endeared him to key authors as well as colleagues.”

Bryan has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Language from Belmont University and a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Colorado. He did a publishing internship with NavPress while in graduate school and joined Thomas Nelson after finishing his graduate degree.

“Nelson is a company full of amazing leaders and professionals,” said Norman, “and it’s an honor to be named Associate Publisher and play a central role ensuring the success of our mission and business. My team members are the best around, and I’m excited to work alongside them honing our publishing program and producing God-honoring content that enriches readers’ lives.”

# # #

Thomas Nelson is a leading provider of Bibles, products, and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes.  For more information, visit our website www.thomasnelson.com.

Jennifer Deshler will be moving from her current role as Thomas Nelson’s Senior Director of Marketing of the Fiction group to serve as Vice President of Marketing and Publishing Process for the Children’s and Gift Product. In this new role, Deshler will be responsible for leading marketing efforts for Children’s and Gift products, streamlining processes from idea to market and making sure promotional efforts yield great results.

“I am thrilled to welcome Jennifer to our team,” said Laura Minchew, Vice President and Publisher of Children’s and Gift Products. “Authors and colleagues alike love working with Jennifer because she brings excellence in creativity, implementation, and analysis to every project.”

Molly Kempf will be joining the team as Editorial Director.  Kempf was Senior Editor at Scholastic, Inc. where she worked with licensed and original series, acquired and developed content for the Scholastic’s Little Shepherd line, and researched new licenses and trends.

“Molly’s experience working with top licenses, movie tie-ins, and children’s fiction will be a huge asset for our team,” said Minchew. “Her cutting edge ideas will lead our initiatives into digital and cross platform development of our video and book assets.”

Mackenzie Howard has been promoted from Children’s Editor to Acquisitions Editor for Children’s books and Gift books. In this new role, Howard will develop frontlist and backlist strategy for children’s books, lead Children’s book acquisition as well as assist with gift book acquisitions.

“Mackenzie is a shining star at Nelson,” continued Minchew. “She has a great eye for projects that will appeal to customers of all ages. I know she will excel in this new role. ”

“Under the leadership of Laura Minchew our Children’s and Gift business is poised for strong growth,” said Tod Shuttleworth, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Thomas Nelson’s Specialty Group. “I believe we have the right team in place to meet new market opportunities in Children’s and Gift digital publishing.”

(Nashville, Tenn.) Thomas Nelson, Inc. announced today the promotion of Russ Schwartz to the position of Director, Christian Independent Retail Sales. Schwartz will oversee Thomas Nelson’s field and phones sales, Christian retail distributors, and marketing groups. He is replacing Tom Knight who has moved into the role of Senior Vide President of Christian Retail and Ministry Sales.

In his distinguished career, Schwartz has worked in every facet of the Christian retail industry. For the last five years, he has served in Thomas Nelson’s Christian Retail Sales division as a Field Sales Consultant, Regional Sales Manager, Training Manager, Key Account Manager, and most recently as Director of Inside Sales.

“With thirty years in the Christian products industry, Russ has demonstrated that he knows the business and that he’s a strong and effective leader,” said Knight. “I am confident that he will excel in this new role.”

Schwartz lives with his wife and two daughters in Nolensville.

“I am excited for the opportunity to lead the Christian Retail Independent team,” said Schwartz. “Christian retail accounts serve a vital part of everything we do at Thomas Nelson and I am committed to serving them and finding ways to grow their business with innovative products and sales programs.”

Contact: Lindsey Nobles
Director of Corporate Communications
tel: (615) 902-1109
fax: (615) 902-1110
web: www.thomasnelson.com
e-mail: lnobles@thomasnelson.com

(Nashville, Tenn.) Thomas Nelson, Inc. announced today the promotion of Gary Davidson to the position of Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of Thomas Nelson’s Bible Group. Davidson brings over twenty years of experience working with Christian products. He has worked for Thomas Nelson for thirteen years, leading Thomas Nelson’s Christian Retail Sales team for the last eight, and the Ministry Development and Church Direct team for the last two.

“I am confident that Gary is the right person to lead our Bible team,” said Mark Schoenwald, president and chief operating officer of Thomas Nelson. “Gary has a distinguished track record of building strong business units by casting vision, building cohesive teams, executing plans, and anticipating the needs of our customers.”

Thomas Nelson veteran and Bible scholar Bob Sanford will return to the company to act as Vice President and Associate Publisher of the group. Sanford, who has worked intimately with the Bible category over the lastthirty years, has unparalleled experience and vast knowledge of the business.

Schoenwald continued, “Bob’s intimate Bible knowledge makes him the perfect compliment to Gary. Working side-by-side they will help strengthen the core of our business, our Bible, reference, and curriculum division.”

Tom Knight will be promoted to fill Davidson’s current role as Senior Vice President of Christian Retail Sales and Ministry Development. With over 10 years of experience working in Christian retail, Knight has demonstrated the ability to develop strong teams through his hands-on management and the ability to build alignment around strategic plans. Knight’s successor has not been appointed, although leadership is evaluating several options and hoping to make an announcement as quickly as possible.

“I am so excited about the privilege of leading Thomas Nelson’s Bible Group,” said Davidson. “They are a strong and passionate team doing extraordinary work to make the Word more accessible for readers around the world. I am leaving the Christian Retail and Ministry team in Tom’s very capable hands. Our working relationship, and my new role, open up new possibilities for creating great Bible, reference, and curriculum products for our Christian and Ministry retail partners.”

“Over the past few years, we have struggled with how to maximize our impact with churches, ministries, and our Christian retail partners. Although these groups have a common mission and vision they were competing instead of collaborating,” said Michael S. Hyatt, President and CEO. “By aligning their efforts under Gary’s leadership, we hope to increase their productivity and profitability.”

With this move, the name of the ministry arm of the sales division will be change from Nelson Ministry and Nelson Direct to the Ministry Development Group. The new name of the group emphasizes their shift in focus from direct sales to aiding in the development of these ministries as they seek to impact the world with the word of God.

Davidson has over eighteen years of experience in Christian retail sales. He has worked for Thomas Nelson for eleven years, leading Thomas Nelson’s Christian Retail Sales team for the last six. Gary’s leadership team includes Tom Knight and Rick Shear in Christian Retail Sales and Beth Ryan, Randy Elliott, and Jack Countryman in Ministry Development.

“My team is excited about the opportunity to create synergies and partnerships between Christian retailers and their local churches and ministries, broaden the reach of Thomas Nelson products, and elevate the level of service to our key constituents,” added Davidson.

“Direct-to-church efforts have been a source of frustration for our retailers, as they’ve found themselves in the awkward position of competing with their own suppliers, adds Steve Potratz, owner and founder of The Parable Group. “Thomas Nelson has listened to our concerns and once again demonstrated leadership in the industry by taking the necessary steps to correct the situation. I look forward to the Ministry Development Group providing much-needed support from within the independent Christian retail channel to help our stores grow sales with local churches. This is a great move and we deeply appreciate Thomas Nelson’s support of Christian Retail in this way.”

Contact: Lindsey Nobles
Director of Corporate Communications
tel: (615) 902-1109
fax: (615) 902-1110
web: www.thomasnelson.com
e-mail: lnobles@thomasnelson.com

(Nashville, Tenn.) Thomas Nelson, Inc. announced today the promotion of Rick Shear to the position of Vice President, Christian Retail Key Account Sales. In his new role, Shear will lead the Christian Retail Key Account team and will be responsible for the cultivation and continued growth of this integral sales channel.

Shear began his career at Thomas Nelson over 20 years ago, working as a Field Sales Representative in Kansas. For the last eight years, he has worked in Key Accounts of the Christian Retail Sales division, most recently working as a Key Account Director.

“Over the last several years our Christian retail key accounts have grown significantly. In order to keep the momentum building in these accounts, we need a strong leader who knows their business and can focus solely on their needs,” said Gary Davidson, Senior Vice President of Christian Retail Sales and Nelson Ministries. “Rick’s extensive experience in publishing and retail has given him a wonderful background for this role. His servant leadership style has made him a favorite with customers and colleagues alike.”

A native of Muncie, Indiana, Shear is a graduate of Ohio State University. He and his wife, Rachel, reside in Greenbrier, Tennessee, and have six children and one grandchild. He also serves in the National Guard and is a member of the 129th Army Band.

“I am honored to serve in a leadership position at Thomas Nelson,” said Shear. “Thomas Nelson’s purpose is to inspire the world and I feel privileged to be able to use my gifts to fulfill this calling.”

Contact: Lindsey Nobles
Director of Corporate Communications
tel: (615) 902-1109
fax: (615) 902-1110
web: www.thomasnelson.com
e-mail: lnobles@thomasnelson.com

“Joe has been a valued member of the Thomas Nelson leadership team for almost forty years,” said Hyatt. “He was instrumental in helping Sam Moore build Thomas Nelson into the world’s largest Christian publishing company. He is an astute businessman, a wise mentor, and a dear friend. He will be greatly missed.”

A special retirement reception will be held in honor of Powers upon the conclusion Thomas Nelson’s All Employee Meeting at The Donelson Fellowship on Wednesday, May 14, 2008. During the reception, the entire Thomas Nelson team will have the opportunity acknowledge and celebrate Power’s almost forty years of dedicated service to the company.

“I am proud to have been a part of Thomas Nelson’s rich history and am so thankful to the Company’s customers, authors, vendors and especially to the employees, both past and present, who have made this both a rewarding and wonderful adventure,” said Powers. “I have great confidence in the entire executive leadership team and their ability to build on Thomas Nelson’s remarkable success.”

Contact: Lindsey Nobles
Director of Corporate Communications
tel: (615) 902-1109
fax: (615) 902-1110
web: www.thomasnelson.com
e-mail: lnobles@thomasnelson.com