GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., May 3, 2010 – Zondervan, a world leader in Christian communications, today announced it has hired Rachel Barach to serve as General Manager of Bible Gateway, the largest Christian website in the world. Barach replaces Joseph Park, who was named Senior VP of Consumer Products for HarperCollins Digital in January.
In her role at Bible Gateway, Barach will be responsible for providing overall leadership and management for all aspects of BibleGateway.com, leading an internal team of designers, software developers, account executives and marketing and operations support.
“Rachel brings a distinct combination of experience, intelligence, leadership and entrepreneurship necessary to step in and build on the strong foundation already established at Bible Gateway,” said Moe Girkins, president and CEO of Zondervan. “We are fortunate that Rachel has chosen to join our team and put her relevant experience and skill set to work to help us continue our vision for Bible Gateway.”
Barach’s experience includes serving as the director of Special Projects at Salem Web Networks where she provided executive guidance for new websites and web-based applications, including Crosswalk.com, Christianity.com, and Bible Study Tools. Barach also managed the editorial team and provided counsel for the marketing planning and execution following the launch of sites and applications. During her tenure Christianity.com grew more than 200% in two months through search, display and viral marketing strategies.
Barach also spent two years as the General Manager and vice president of the Faith Based Sector for Kintera, Inc, an online fundraising software and donor management system. Most recently, she worked at MEA Digital, a top 50 digital marketing agency, where she served on the senior management team devising and supervising execution of integrated multi-channel marketing initiatives for clients including Cars.com, Shockwave, ESET, Oakley and Mitsubishi Home Electronics. Barach earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitworth University.
Zondervan acquired BibleGateway.com in October 2008 from Gospel Communications with a vision to build it into the premier online aggregator of biblical resources, blending relevant content and community features. Since the acquisition, BibleGateway.com has grown from six million unique visitors per month to more than eight million per month.
About Zondervan
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 Seattle, Chicago and Miami, Zondervan publishes its bestselling Bibles, books, audio, video, curriculum, software, and digital products through its Zondervan, eZondervan, Zonderkidz and Editorial Vida 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
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