B&H Publishing Group Announces Jim Baird as Vice President of B&H Academic, WORDSearch and CrossBooks
Sep 25th
Contact: Dave Schroeder [email protected] 615.251.2305
B&H Publishing Group Announces Jim Baird as Vice President of B&H Academic, WORDSearch and CrossBooks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Selma Wilson, B&H Publishing Group President, announced a strategic shift that will incorporate three of the organization’s key consumer brands under the oversight of Jim Baird, who has led B&H Academic since 2006.
In his new role, Baird will manage B&H Academic, WORDSearch and CrossBooks with a team comprised of Paul Mikos, who will set strategy for CrossBooks, and Chris Cowan, who will set strategy for B&H Academic.
Jim Baird joined B&H Publishing Group in 2006, leading and developing strategy for B&H Academic. Prior to joining B&H, Baird served in two churches as an associate pastor, developed video curriculum for churches with Word Publishing and was part of the team that contracted with Logos Bible Software to develop the first Bible study resource on a CD Rom. In 2000, Baird started a publishing consulting business providing turnkey services for authors that included editorial, production, marketing sales, distribution and customer service. Baird is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and boasts over 12,000 titles in his own digital library.
“Jim’s background and experience in the academic, software, publishing, ministry and business arenas make him uniquely gifted for this role,” Wilson said.
Lifeway acquired the Bible software solutions WORDsearch and QuickVerse in 2011. WORDsearch has been a provider of Bible study software since 1987, offering over 4,800 Bibles and books that make study faster, easier and more enjoyable. As part of the WORDsearch family of software, QuickVerse has been known for over twenty years as an affordable, easy-to-use Bible software program that can be found in more Christian bookstores and retail outlets than any other Bible software.
“As a WORDsearch customer for over ten years, I know from experience that we serve well those who preach and teach. We are able to reach the masses through all forms of technology including desktop, iOS app, cloud and coming soon the Android app. We have over 250,000 customers worldwide,” Baird said.
At the time of the acquisition, Thom Rainer, president and CEO of Lifeway, said, “There is unprecedented growth in practically every area of digital media and we continue to seek opportunities to leverage these technologies in spiritually-transforming ways.”
B&H Publishing Group, a division of Lifeway Christian Resources, is a team of mission-minded people with a passion for taking God’s Word to the world. Because we believe Every Word Matters™ we seek to provide intentional, Bible-centered content that positively impacts the hearts and minds of people, inspiring them to build a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. Among our print and digital releases for the trade, church, and academic markets, titles include The New York Times No. 1 best sellers The Love Dare and The Vow as well as the award-winning HCSB Study Bible.
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