New York, NY (December 5, 2007) – Jane Friedman, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, today announced the appointment of Maureen "Moe" Girkins as President and CEO of Zondervan. Beginning January 2, 2008, Girkins will be responsible for overseeing and directing Zondervan's growth strategy in addition to managing day-to-day operations as president. She will report to Friedman.
"Moe brings years of experience and business acumen to the position. Her success rate is impressive; as is her strong faith. She will be a wonderful leader for Zondervan," said Friedman.
"In the corporate world, Moe has achieved great success leading high performance teams in competitive, complex, and changing markets. This experience, combined with her passion for the mission of Zondervan, will elevate the company to new levels," said Bruce Ryskamp, Interim CEO of Zondervan.
"I am honored to have been selected and am grateful for this tremendous opportunity. Zondervan has a phenomenal track record, and I look forward to working with the Zondervan team to continue its long standing position of excellence in Christian publishing," said Girkins.
Girkins has spent 25 years in high tech, where she held a number of senior executive positions including Senior Vice President, Wireless: Office of the Chairman at Dell and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Strategic Marketing at Motorola. She has also held numerous positions at AT&T and Bell Laboratories, and led their multibillion dollar international Electronic Switching Systems and Intelligent Network Businesses. Girkins spent a year as a loaned executive to the Mayor's Office of Chicago. For the last six years she has worked as an advisor to Investor Growth Capital and served on multiple corporate boards including Media Arts Group, Vallent, Kemet Electronics, and Broadcom.
Girkins has completed the first half of her Masters of Divinity program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. She is also a published author; Mother Leads Best details the positive impact of motherhood on senior executive women. She serves as Chairman of the Board of LovingNeighbors, a volunteer organization spawned to aid in the recovery of Katrina victims. Additionally, she volunteers on several boards including: Northwestern University and The Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. She is a member of Christ Church of Oak Brook.
About HarperCollins Publishers
HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children's Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children's books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world's foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at http://www.harpercollins.com/.
Zondervan, a HarperCollins company, is a world leader in Christian communications and the leading Christian publishing brand. For more than 75 years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian experiences through general and academic resources by influential leaders and emerging voices, and been honored with more Christian Book Awards than any other publisher. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with offices in San Diego and Miami, Zondervan conducts events and publishes its bestselling Bibles, books, audio, video, curriculum, software, and digital products through its Zondervan, eZondervan, Zonderkidz, Youth Specialties, Editorial Vida, and National Pastors Convention brands. Zondervan resources are sold worldwide through retail stores, online, and by Zondervan ChurchSource, and are translated into nearly 200 languages in more than 60 countries. Visit Zondervan on the Internet at www.zondervan.com (mobile site: zvan.mobi).
Maureen “Moe” Girkins, president and CEO of Zondervan, was profiled in the August 10 issue of The Grand Rapids Press. The article captures her journey from childhood to high-profile executive, along with important milestones that shaped her as a person and a leader.
