30 Years at Faithlife... a new role, and a new CEO...
We recently made a big change at Faithlife, and I wanted to share it with all of you. What follows is a version of the announcement I made to our team weeks ago:
I co-founded Faithlife more than 30 years ago, in May, 1991.
I was 19 years old when we started working on Logos Bible Software (inspired by a program I wrote when I was 15); this is truly my life’s work.
As Faithlife has grown and changed we have needed more process, structure, and operational predictability. I understand the importance of all of these, but they’ve never been my skill or my passion. (They may be my anti-passion.…)
My passion is for the products, the relationships (inside and outside), and our corporate culture. I am excited about the difference we make in the world, and the service we provide churches and everyone who studies the Bible.
January will mark 30 years from our formal incorporation and my official start date as CEO; I recently turned 50 years old.
This seemed like a good milestone at which to start a new phase of the journey.
So, on January 1st, I took my first-ever promotion, to Executive Chairman, and promoted our CFO, Vik Rajagopal, into the CEO role.
Faithlife is ready for a CEO with stronger management skills, more disciplined execution, and a passion for setting and achieving goals. In working closely alongside Vik for the past year I’ve been impressed with Vik’s strengths in all those areas, as well as his kindness, his leadership, and his ability to encourage and support our team.
Most importantly, Vik is someone who loves our mission, shares our values, and is excited to serve the Church and everyone who studies the Bible. (You can read more about Vik on his LinkedIn profile.)
I am ready to spend more time on our products, with customers, building relationships with partner organizations, thinking, writing, planning, mentoring, and coaching our team.
I am not leaving or retiring, and my ownership, board seat, and commitment are not changing.
I will still be working for Faithlife full-time.
The difference is that I won’t be leading weekly meetings, giving assignments, or having direct reports. I do plan to keep working on our products, but more as a vision-caster and brainstorming-collaborator than as an assigner of tasks.
It’s important to me that you know the change is thoughtful, intentional, and the best thing for Faithlife and for me. And most importantly, that you know I’m still 100% committed to Faithlife’s mission and our success -- and excited to be making changes which make that next level of success even more likely.
I am a founder and an entrepreneur who served as CEO for a long time, and now I’m ready to hand that title to someone else so I can operate from my strengths, and so our team can get the leadership and management that will help all of us achieve a new level of success and service to the Church together.
Thank you for joining me in supporting Vik in this new role.
-- Bob
Comments
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Congratulations - may your freedom to focus on what you love bring you joy.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Sounds like a great move for you and the company, Bob. Your development of Logos Bible Software has been a great blessing to my life and ministry. I continue to use it every day and 20+ hours each week as I prepare sermons. Keep up the great work!
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Congrats to you and congrats and welcome to Vik! Glad you're still going to be with Faithlife.
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All I can say is: Congratulations 🎊🎉🎈🍾 May all things work out for the best for everyone at FL and for us as customers 👍😁👌
DAL
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DAL said:
All I can say is: Congratulations 🎊🎉🎈🍾 May all things work out for the best for everyone at FL and for us as customers 👍😁👌
DAL
Amen...[Y]
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+1 [Y] Congrats with Prayers going forward. [:D]
Wonder about successful addendum to Fire Someone Today: And Other Surprising Tactics for Making Your Business a Success
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Congratulations. Looking forward to what Faithlife becomes as you serve where you shine best. God bless you and all the good folk who are making Logos the wonderful resource it is.
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Congrats to you and to Vik. It's amazing to me how God leads us through the seasons of life and the seasons of our professions and how sometimes, these realms run in parallel. And sometimes they don't. Blessings to the FL family.
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Best wishes for your next level of involvement with FL. I fully support your decision and look forward to strong leadership from your chosen successor. Thanks for your years of service and may you live to see the fruits of this your labor of love.Bob Pritchett said:I’m still 100% committed to Faithlife’s mission and our success -- and excited to be making changes which make that next level of success even more likely.
Meanwhile, Jesus kept on growing wiser and more mature, and in favor with God and his fellow man.
International Standard Version. (2011). (Lk 2:52). Yorba Linda, CA: ISV Foundation.
MacBook Pro MacOS Sequoia 15.4 1TB SSD
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Congratulations! I am thankful for all that Faithlife does. I have been richly blessed by Logos software and my ministry is more effective because of it.
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Congratulations to all of you! God bless you all!
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We had better look busy; Bob might be on the forums more frequently.
macOS (Logos Pro - Beta) | Android 13 (Logos Stable)
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I'm sure you have chosen wisely, so congratulations to Vik on his new role and all the best, Bob, for another 30 years at Faithlife...
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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This sounds great for you, Faithlife, and for all of us!
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Congratulations to you Bob and also to Vik. I am thankful for all what you have given us in the past years and I am looking forward to what you will bring us, now that you can focus on what your passion is. Thanks for sharing!
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MJ. Smith said:
may your freedom to focus on what you love bring you joy.
[Y]
Robert M. Warren said:Bob might be on the forums more frequently.
[:D]
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I can understand you very well. I am not CEO type of person, and always wanted to work with product innovation.
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11
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Fare-well my friend and welcome to the new journey.
tootle pip
Mike
Now tagging post-apocalyptic fiction as current affairs. Latest Logos, MacOS, iOS and iPadOS
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Congratulations, Bob and the rest of Faithlife on this great move. I think one thing that makes a leader a real leader is self-understanding - knowing what your strengths are and what you need to delegate to those whose strengths fit better. You seem to have done this, and it will only help Faithlife move into the next stage of the great work you have done for 30 years.
All the best to the entire team and my personal thanks in gratitude for many years of study and growth using your fantastic software!
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Bob Pritchett said:
Faithlife is ready for a CEO with stronger management skills, more disciplined execution, and a passion for setting and achieving goals
A wise and humble move, Bob...thanks for sharing with us and may God bless you in your new position and give you the opportunity to thrive in using your passion and gifts.
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Well done Bob! So many CEOs and especially founders struggle to make a good transition into the next stage of life and business. It sounds like you are doing this very well. Congratulations on 30 amazing years!
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Congratz!
PS I had to look up "Executive Chairman" [:D]
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Bob and Vik,
Congratulations!
Is there a page on your website about who the top leaders / executives of FL are?
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PL said:
Is there a page on your website about who the top leaders / executives of FL are?
Andrew Batishko | Logos software developer
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Congratulations!
I hope Vik Rajagopal will be as transparent as you were, and we will see him some time in the forum.
"No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying." Leonard Ravenhill
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Congratulations. May the Lord bless you in your new role.
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Thank you Bob for all you have done for us and Faithlife. And welcome Vik to your new role and I hope you keep operations running smoothly as Bob as done.
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Words cannot describe how thankful I am for this company/software. I envy someone who has been able to give their life to the intersection of technology and theology. Would love to watch a video of Bob telling about his journey.
Congratulations.
preachertony.com — appletech.tips — facebook.com/tonywalker23 — twitter.com/tonywalker23 — youtube.com/tonywalker23
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Congratulations Bob and Vik!
Will Vik ever visit the forums?
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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MJ. Smith said:
Congratulations - may your freedom to focus on what you love bring you joy.
MJ sums it up well. This is a good move for you and for the company. Thankful Vik has come along to be the person you felt comfortable with handing over the day to day working of the company. I pray the transition for all will be smooth.
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Sounds like just the right thing for you and the company. May it be a time of greater growth for all.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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SineNomine said:
Will Vik ever visit the forums?
Agree... It would be nice to see Vik interact with users here and let us know a bit more about him (in his spare time)...
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Congratulations, Bob! Well done in growing Logos/Faithlife to the company it is now. Blessings as you continue on in a more visionary/relational role and hand over the operations of the company to someone equipped to take it to the next level.
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Way to go Bob!
The way God has used Logos Bible Software is now part of my testimony when I talk about spiritual growth. I have been a daily Bible reader for more than 60 years, but it wasn't until Logos opened up the Bible to me that I began to truly understand what and whom I believed. Eleven years ago I prayed that God would make my disicipline of daily Bible reading "fun." His answer to that prayer through Logos was more than I could have imagined or hoped for.
Thank you Bob.
-john
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers (Mal 4:6a)
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I'm sure Logos is mighty helpful to seminarians, pastors etc. But all Logos does is save time for such people. But I think one of the biggest contribution of Logos is to give confidence to lay people to engage in Bible study to unearth truths that have not been discovered yet. The reason lay people with seminary tools can discover truths is because they are all not trained to think the seminarian way. So, one day, lay people are going to write Christian best sellers full of new truths, and they are going to credit Logos for helping them with all the research needed to make the claims they make in their book.
I believe in a Win-Win-Win God.
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1Cor10:31 said:
The reason lay people with seminary tools can discover truths is because they are all not trained to think the seminarian way.
1Cor10:31 I like the idea of being trained to think differently in seminary. Is that intentional and part of the curriculum or is it a happy by-product of the educational process? Are there resources that speak of "seminary thinking?"
-john
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers (Mal 4:6a)
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SineNomine said:
Congratulations Bob and Vik!
Will Vik ever visit the forums?
Hello! I see a few questions for me and my planned involvement here in the forums. I have browsed the forums fairly consistently over the past year, and plan on continuing to do so as we go forward. I will also hop in periodically and engage directly on things - to address your concerns and feedback on our products, and also for fun as I get to know our user community (and you all get to know me).
Bob, thank you for the kind words in your post! I’m honored and incredibly excited for the opportunity to lead Faithlife into the future. Bob has built a tremendous organization, and I don’t take my new position lightly. I look forward to getting to know you all as we embark on this new chapter!
Vik
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Welcome to the forums - that's standard practice for everyone with a count of one post - it is genuine not pro forma. I look forward to see what changes will come to the products. And while we are at it, any chance now of getting the Dalit Commentary -- we are very short of completed commentary series outside the Western world. [for other users see: Non-Western Commentaries - Commentary Guide - Guides & Help at Covenant Theological Seminary (libguides.com)]
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Vik Rajagopal said:
I will also hop In periodically and engage directly on things - to address your concerns and feedback on our products, and also for fun as I get to know our user community (and you all get to know me).
Yes, welcome to the forums. I look forward to reading your posts as you have time to engage.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Vik Rajagopal said:
Hello! I see a few questions for me and my planned involvement here in the forums. I have browsed the forums fairly consistently over the past year, and plan on continuing to do so as we go forward. I will also hop In periodically and engage directly on things - to address your concerns and feedback on our products, and also for fun as I get to know our user community (and you all get to know me).
Bob, thank you for the kind words in your post! I’m honored and incredibly excited for the opportunity to lead Faithlife into the future. Bob has built a tremendous organization, and I don’t take my new position lightly. I look forward to getting to know you all as we embark on this new chapter!
Hi, VIk: A warm welcome to the Forums!! Congratulations on your promotion!!
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Vik Rajagopal said:SineNomine said:
Congratulations Bob and Vik!
Will Vik ever visit the forums?
Hello! I see a few questions for me and my planned involvement here in the forums. I have browsed the forums fairly consistently over the past year, and plan on continuing to do so as we go forward. I will also hop In periodically and engage directly on things - to address your concerns and feedback on our products, and also for fun as I get to know our user community (and you all get to know me).
Bob, thank you for the kind words in your post! I’m honored and incredibly excited for the opportunity to lead Faithlife into the future. Bob has built a tremendous organization, and I don’t take my new position lightly. I look forward to getting to know you all as we embark on this new chapter!
Vik
Welcome to the Forums! I will be praying for you in your new roll, as well as Bob in his. May the Lord bless you!
Pastor, Mt. Leonard Baptist Church, SBC
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Vik Rajagopal said:SineNomine said:
Congratulations Bob and Vik!
Will Vik ever visit the forums?
Hello! I see a few questions for me and my planned involvement here in the forums. I have browsed the forums fairly consistently over the past year, and plan on continuing to do so as we go forward. I will also hop In periodically and engage directly on things - to address your concerns and feedback on our products, and also for fun as I get to know our user community (and you all get to know me).
Bob, thank you for the kind words in your post! I’m honored and incredibly excited for the opportunity to lead Faithlife into the future. Bob has built a tremendous organization, and I don’t take my new position lightly. I look forward to getting to know you all as we embark on this new chapter!
Excellent! I'm glad that you're already familiar with the forums. [Y][Y] As I imagine you know by now, the value of the Faithlife Forums to Faithlife is quite significant, even if we sometimes cause y'all some headaches. I, for one, am hopeful for the future.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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Welcome Vik. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Look forward to seeing what both you and Bob bring to the company in your new roles.
Vik Rajagopal said:SineNomine said:Congratulations Bob and Vik!
Will Vik ever visit the forums?
Hello! I see a few questions for me and my planned involvement here in the forums. I have browsed the forums fairly consistently over the past year, and plan on continuing to do so as we go forward. I will also hop in periodically and engage directly on things - to address your concerns and feedback on our products, and also for fun as I get to know our user community (and you all get to know me).
Bob, thank you for the kind words in your post! I’m honored and incredibly excited for the opportunity to lead Faithlife into the future. Bob has built a tremendous organization, and I don’t take my new position lightly. I look forward to getting to know you all as we embark on this new chapter!
Vik
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I somehow missed this post but echo what many have said. Bob's interactions on the forums have been a great blessing through the years. He must have been a great CEO to work under.
Congratulations to Vik as he takes on this role. And thank you Bob for your leadership and forward thinking through the years.
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Mr. Bob,
Thank you for your past and future contributions to Faithlife Bible software. Logos Bible Software has truly been a blessing to my life, almost from the beginning of Logos. It has been a major contribution to my ministry. In June, I will retire from being a full-time senior pastor for the last 47 years. So, I am making a shift myself. May God bless you.
"In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church," John Wesley0
