Mark Schoenwald named CEO as Michael Hyatt steps aside

A leadership change at Thomas Nelson is set to take the world’s largest Christian publisher further beyond the printed page.

New CEO Mark Schoenwald intends to broaden the diversification begun under his predecessor, Michael Hyatt, who remains chairman of the board and will continue to represent the company in an ambassadorial role.

“We really no longer see ourselves as a book publisher,” Schoenwald, 49, said after the announcement of his April promotion from chief operating officer. “We are really a content provider and want to deliver it in any format our consumers desire.”

Schoenwald, who retains the president’s title he previously held, cited Nelson’s live events and its digital publishing initiatives as ways in which the company was moving beyond traditional publishing, but said that it remained committed to the Christian retail channel. 

“We have deployed by far the most resources in that area and will continue to do so,” he said. “We have learned over time that our strength is the core Christian content. When we get outside of that and try to become something we are not, we really lose our competitive edge.”

For Hyatt, launching Nelson into
e-books and social media was one of the five most significant accomplishments of his near-six years as CEO. The leadership timing for the transition was good, he said, with the company’s fiscal year having closed recently with 6% growth over the previous 12 months.

While part of that was due to the runaway success of Todd Burpo’s Heaven is for Real, with more than a million copies sold, other areas—including children’s books, gift books and Bibles—had seen significant growth too, said Schoenwald.

Formerly an executive with home décor, garden and gift companies, Schoenwald joined Nelson in 2005 as chief sales officer. During the time he rose behind the scenes in the organization—becoming president and COO in 2009—Hyatt was taking an increasingly more public profile as a blogger and speaker. He also served as chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), 2007-2010.

“While I intend to continue the strong focus and discipline in regard to running the business, I will be more visible externally at industry events,” said Schoenwald. Hyatt said that his future plans include writing books, likely to be published by Nelson, and “pursuing other business interests.”

Under his leadership, the Nashville-based publisher, publicly traded since 1969, went private in 2006 in a sale to InterMedia
Partners. The same year, the company acquired Integrity Publishers and sold off its Cool Springs Press gardening imprint. 

In 2007, Hyatt took Nelson through a major reorganization, scrapping its 21 imprints in favor of the Thomas Nelson banner with separate divisions for Bibles, Christian and general trade books. 

On the grounds that the event was not worth the big investment, the company stopped exhibiting at the International Christian Retail Show in 2008—though its remainder and international interests continue to have a presence—and instead held an Open House for its top retail accounts in Nashville. Originally envisioned as an annual event, it has not been repeated to date.

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