Evangelical Publisher Zondervan Appoints New CEO
Zondervan has appointed Scott Macdonald as the new president and CEO of the evangelical publishing company.
He shared with The Christian Post his enthusiasm and his unarguable conclusion that being in the Christian business has prepared him to take the role as the new president.
“I hope I stay here for the rest of my career. I love being in it,” he said. “God has led me to a different path. And in my business career, it has prepared me for this role and I am thrilled to be in this role.”
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Macdonald, 54, served as Interim President of Zondervan, a division of New York publishing giant HarperCollins, in March before taking the role.
"Scott brings more than 30 years of experience and business leadership to this role," Brian Murray, president and CEO of HarperCollins, said in a statement.
“His extensive experience in the Christian retail market as well as sales, operations and management, coupled with his steady demeanor and his strong faith make him the ideal leader for Zondervan.”
Along with holding several senior level leadership positions at a variety of technology companies, Macdonald served as president for Lemstone Christian Stores, which has 35 locations in 16 states. He then became interim general manager in Zondervan’s business unit, The City, described as the Facebook for churches, in December 2010.
His desire to remain in the Christian industry business is out of enjoyment for its “culture, people, [and] its product that we bring to market. I enjoy the ability we have to impact people's lives. It's a very fulfilling alignment of my Christian beliefs in my work environment.”
While he had no comments over Zondervan’s decision not to renew the contract with their previous CEO, Maureen “Moe” Girkins, who made history by being its first female CEO, he recognized the great contribution she made to the business, especially with the team’s undeniable ability to move forward with new demands.
“We have a great team of people capable of doing a great job,” said Macdonald. “We are in an industry that is experiencing other kinds of changes. There is a significant change in the publishing industry digitally and we have been able to respond to that.”
He emphasized that although the core values haven’t changed since its launch in 1931, it has been able to adapt to the changes.
“Even though the world around us is changing we will be able to adapt to those changes. Part of our history and our DNA is to be able to adapt to those changes,” he highlighted.
His future plans for the company include providing “great products in a way that consumers want to consume them, without straying far from our mission statement.”
Meanwhile, Zondervan’s plans include moving its headquarters, established in 1992, to another Grand Rapids, Mich.-area location and closing the attached warehouse operation next year due to Harper Collins’ efforts to streamline its distribution.
Zondervan’s 75 employees will reportedly lose their jobs when the Kent County's Cascade Township warehouse closes in July 2012.
No statements were made regarding the change.
