Standard Publishing President Larry Carpenter is leaving the historic company after less than two years at the helm.

An industry veteran recruited to help turn the 144-year-old publisher around after years of declining fortunes, Carpenter told Christian Retailing that his resignation--effective May 7--was for personal reasons and not related to the business.

In a statement announcing the change, William Reed--CEO of Standard's parent company, CFM Religion Publishing Group--said: "We wish Larry well as he transitions into a new chapter in his life and thank him for his many contributions. Standard is well positioned to continue to grow as a provider of high quality, relevant Christian media."

Carpenter, 54, joined Cincinnati-based Standard Publishing in the summer of 2008 from Nashville-based Thomas Nelson, where he was vice president of marketing for nonfiction trade books. He was recruited to replace Matthew Thibeau, who had been appointed Standard president in 2006 when the company was sold by Standex International Corporation to a private equity group.

"I think we have been successful in doing quite a few of the things I wanted to do in terms of getting the company back on a profitable course," Carpenter said. That had included refocusing on Standard's 'classic" products--including the reintroduction of the successful "Baby Blessings" line--and expanding sales to other channels.

A member of Christian Retailing's editorial advisory board, Carpenter said that he would be exploring other options for the future on returning to the Nashville area, where his family was still based.

Formerly with Procter & Gamble and Campbell Soup Co., Carpenter's diverse career in Christian publishing began in 1987 when he joined Ingram Book Company. After the company acquired Spring Arbor in 1997, he became president and CEO of the new division. In 1999, he left to form his own company, FaithWorks, which was the first Christian full-service distributor. Following the sale of FaithWorks to STL Distribution, Carpenter joined Thomas Nelson.

For the past year, he has served on the board of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Founded in 1866, Standard pioneered Christian curriculum publishing and won the Christian Retailing Retailers Choice Award for best VBS in 2009 for God's Big Backyard, released the previous year.

Standard has launched a new blog to collect stories of lives changed through its VBS programs.

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