Logos Leadership Update

Good morning everyone! First of all, I’d like to thank you all for your engagement with this community and ongoing support of Logos. I joined Logos just a few weeks after we launched Logos 9, and I remain awed and overwhelmed by the passion you all have for us and our products - and the grace you afford us as we occasionally misstep.

As I’ve shared here in past posts, we have worked hard over the past few years to reposition Logos at the forefront of what we do, up to and including a formal rebrand of the company from Faithlife to Logos last summer. Our teams are working behind the scenes to build amazing new features and functionality which will be available in the next version of Logos - and we intend to share much more detail on this with you in the next few weeks. I truly believe the next version of Logos will be ground-breaking on several fronts and I’m confident you will agree with me.

But I’m actually writing to share a personal update with you all - that I am stepping down as CEO of Logos, effective today. I joined Logos nearly 3.5 years ago as CFO and succeeded Bob as CEO in late 2021. In my time here, and in particular in my 2.5 years as CEO, we have implemented a series of changes at Logos to ensure we can best serve and equip each of you - today, tomorrow, and for decades to come. These changes have been the right ones, and today we are laser focused on what we do best—serving you by building technology that empowers you for deeper study in God’s Word. And I can confidently say we are healthier as an organization than we’ve ever been, and you can be confident in knowing that we will be here to support you into the future.

But implementing and managing change is hard for individuals, and CEOs are not immune. I recognized this in myself several months ago and have worked closely with our Board to find a successor CEO to pass the baton to - one who shares my passion for our mission and our customers, and who has a similar heart to serve and equip the global Church. I’m happy to share that we have found such a leader, and effective today I am passing the baton of leadership at Logos to Bill McCarthy.

Bill is based out of North Carolina where he attends the Summit Church in Raleigh. Outside of work and family, he is actively involved in two non-profit organizations, The Timothy Initiative and Sports Mission Outreach. He also helped form Iron Academy, a Christian boy’s school in Raleigh. Bill brings a wealth of professional experience to this role and was most recently a Board member and interim COO with Appian. Bill has had an outstanding career as a sales leader, general manager, Chief Revenue and Operating Officer, and Board member, is a seasoned leader, and all-around good guy. I’m confident that you, and the millions of Logos users like you, are in good hands under Bill’s leadership.

It has been a privilege to serve you all as CEO of Logos - I thank you for your support, your passion and enthusiasm, and for your prayers. I now ask that you channel those elements towards Bill and team as they continue marching towards our vision of serving and equipping every Christian around the world.

Note Bill is on a flight right now to Bellingham so he may not hop into the forums until tomorrow to introduce himself to you all. But please join me in welcoming him to Logos.

Best,

Vik

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Comments

Tony Walker

Forgive the selfishness, but are my 10 years of logos purchases, a.k.a. investments, safe?

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288075#Comment_1288075

Forgive the selfishness, but are my 10 years of logos purchases, a.k.a. investments, safe?

Wasn't the end of the third paragraph enough assurance?

Dave Hooton

But implementing and managing change is hard for individuals, and CEOs are not immune. I recognized this in myself several months ago

Recognising this and stepping down is courageous. I wish you the best for your future, and thank you for the assurance of Logos' future.

scooter

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288078#Comment_1288078

Thanks, Vik, for your work at Logos + the laser focus of the organization.

I wish you the best in the future.

All the best for your future! Well done, for walking out loved.

Kiyah

Thank you, Vik, for all the work you've done in refocusing Logos on its core mission and improving our user experience of the software.

My hope is that the new CEO shares a commitment to improving the way Logos is developed and brought to market. I've been pleased with the commitment to bug fixes Logos has shown for the Logos 10 release cycle and hope that continues. I certainly don't want to go back the world of unfinished releases (Logos 8) or pushing out new bugs faster than you fix them (Logos 9).

I also hope the new CEO can work on bringing more and a greater breadth of publishers to Logos, especially more academic publishers.

Best wishes to you and your family and God's blessings upon your future endeavors.

Vik Rajagopal

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288075#Comment_1288075

Forgive the selfishness, but are my 10 years of logos purchases, a.k.a. investments, safe?

Dave is correct - you have nothing to be concerned about!

Vik Rajagopal

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288081#Comment_1288081

Thank you, Vik, for all the work you've done in refocusing Logos on its core mission and improving our user experience of the software.

My hope is that the new CEO shares a commitment to improving the way Logos is developed and brought to market. I've been pleased with the commitment to bug fixes Logos has shown for the Logos 10 release cycle and hope that continues. I certainly don't want to go back the world of unfinished releases (Logos 8) or pushing out new bugs faster than you fix them (Logos 9).

I also hope the new CEO can work on bringing more and a greater breadth of publishers to Logos, especially more academic publishers.

Best wishes to you and your family and God's blessings upon your future endeavors.

Thank you. I think you'll be pleased by what you see with the next version of Logos, with more to be shared in the forums soon. And RE: academic publishers, our new Vice President of Content, Matt Bennett, comes from the academic publishing world and growing in this area is a component of his charter.

MJ. Smith

Thank you for the work you have done at Logos, Vik. Enjoy the next chapter(s) of your life knowing you have done a good job.

MWW

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288086#Comment_1288086

Vik, may God’s grace go before you as you journey onward!

Kiyah

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288086#Comment_1288086

Thank you. I think you'll be pleased by what you see with the next version of Logos, with more to be shared in the forums soon. And RE: academic publishers, our new Vice President of Content, Matt Bennett, comes from the academic publishing world and growing in this area is a component of his charter.

Awesome! Thank again, Vik!

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288087#Comment_1288087

Enjoy the next chapter(s) of your life knowing you have done a good job.

Yes ... we want to know about your next chapter! You have a good future ahead of you.

Matt Bennett

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288091#Comment_1288091

Kiyah - Vik is correct in saying that expanding our content offerings from top academic publishers is one of the areas my team and I are focused on. Are there specific publishers you had in mind, whose content you value highly?

Nathan Parker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288096#Comment_1288096

Thank you for your service to the Logos family! I wish you well in your future career, and look forward to seeing the next chapter in Logos' history.

Mark Smith

Thank you for serving us users well. We know that the transitions that have been made have been very difficult on many people. I would not have wanted to be in your shoes, but am glad you stepped forward to head up the changes. May the next steps in your employment be rewarding and (hopefully) not as personally challenging for you.

I don't know Bill, but know the board will have chosen wisely. As users we will be as supportive to him as possible.

Tes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288087#Comment_1288087

Thank you for the work you have done at Logos, Vik. Enjoy the next chapter(s) of your life knowing you have done a good job.

Lew Worthington

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288096#Comment_1288096

Kiyah - Vik is correct in saying that expanding our content offerings from top academic publishers is one of the areas my team and I are focused on. Are there specific publishers you had in mind, whose content you value highly?

I don't know if this would be a better topic for a new thread, but one concern for many of us with an academic bent is access to some of the premier journals.

Lynden O. Williams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288111#Comment_1288111

God bless in your new endeavors. Looking forward to the improvements in Logos 11.

DAL

Thank you for your services! It wasn’t easy, but there’s a thing called “Stepping Up!” And you definitely shined in that department! Blessings in your new endeavors!

DAL

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288111#Comment_1288111

Blessings on your next journey. Send pictures to the forum. I pray the Lord will lead you in the direction that aligns with God's purpose for your life. I echo Lew's request. We also need something like ATLA databases for students who are not in seminary.

Lynden O. Williams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288127#Comment_1288127

Blessings on your next journey. Send pictures to the forum. I pray the Lord will lead you in the direction that aligns with God's purpose for your life. I echo Lew's request. We also need something like ATLA databases for students who are not in seminary.

Yes. PLEASE

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288127#Comment_1288127

We also need something like ATLA databases for students who are not in seminary.

Logos would probably need to charge for this service and allow for individuals who have access through their school or alma mater. Have you looked into an ATLA membership? It is priced on a sliding scale starting at $35 a year. Individual Membership (atla.com)

mike

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288138#Comment_1288138

First of all, Thank you for staying with Logos this long.

Secondly, sooo... how bad is Logos doing right now?

It's nothing new. With news like this, normally things are either stagnant in quality control and improvement or financial projection is downhill (sometimes). How then will this impact the upcoming release of Logos 11?

Will L11 be just a small feature update or big feature updates? Will the new CEO going to hire more employees or fire more employees to meet the financial projection? I really hope the new CEO puts more TLC on the new features. Please ...

Mark

Thank you, Vik, for your leadership these past few years. May the Lord continue guiding you in future endeavers, whatever they may be, that they may be for the glory of God.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288144#Comment_1288144

Secondly, sooo... how bad is Logos doing right now?

It's nothing new. With news like this, normally things are either stagnant in quality control and improvement or financial projection is downhill (sometimes). How then will this impact the upcoming release of Logos 11?

This is not my experience. News like this to me indicates that the individual assigned to reposition a company (Vik) has completed his task and has the culture changed so that an executive (Bill) can take over in a smooth transaction. The one person I know who works as a change agent in IT generally works from 1 1/2 to 3 years for a company. An executive who can serve as a change agent is a very special person in terms of the set of skills they possess. I'm comfortable that the Logos/Verbum product will reflect the company's refocusing on the core product and will in some way throw down the gauntlet to competitors. That is what I have seen in similar situations.

Kevin A

Thank you for all your work Vik in bringing in the changes, some of them no doubt tough, that have and will bring further stability and focus.[Y]

Fabian

In my time here, and in particular in my 2.5 years as CEO, we have implemented a series of changes at Logos to ensure we can best serve

Sounds better in the CV, than I have focused on fixing decades old bugs and on small improvements our users have wished and reported for years.
Hopefully the next one focus more on things which annoyed me on Logos.

Matt Hamrick

Thank you for your leadership Vik. Blessings to any future endeavors you pursue.

Jerry Bush

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288163#Comment_1288163

Vik - I appreciate the changes you have made. I think bringing the company back to its core business was the right move and I appreciate what you've done.

Sometimes churches have interim pastors and that is what I think that's what you have been. Sometimes interims are caretakers and other times they are change agents, positioning the church for the next leader to take them into the future in a strong way.

I think you have been the latter kind of "interim leader" at Logos. You should be proud of what you have accomplished. We users are beneficiaries of your work.

Finally, I have been involved in two turnaround situations in churches (I'm a lead pastor) and I understand the toll it takes when change is needed and you are the one leading it. I hope you take time to really rest and recharge.

Well done, Vik. Thank you.

Bruce Dunning

But implementing and managing change is hard for individuals, and CEOs are not immune. I recognized this in myself several months ago and have worked closely with our Board to find a successor CEO to pass the baton to - one who shares my passion for our mission and our customers, and who has a similar heart to serve and equip the global Church. I’m happy to share that we have found such a leader, and effective today I am passing the baton of leadership at Logos to Bill McCarthy.

Thank you Vik for your efforts to do an excellent job and your commitment to make this transition as smooth as possible. Blessing to you on your next stage of life. I look forward to hearing more about and from Bill and seeing how Logos continues to get even better as a result.

xnman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288124#Comment_1288124

I wish you well in the next chapter of your life. I think Logos has improved greatly in the last two years and that probably came from your leadership. I wish you well.

Myke Harbuck

Vic,

Thank you very much for your leadership in turning the ship around and returning to the core products and services that made Logos Logos! I'm very thankful that Logos is refocusing on Bible study and has abandoned the peripheral products like websites, ChMs, merchant services, etc. I realize the intent was good - serve the church by offering more products to the customer we already serve, and make a little extra money at the same time. But I think that Logos Bible Software suffered immensely during that time. However, the renewed focus under your leadership has yielded positive results, and I think the best is yet to come.

Thanks and best wishes to you in your future endeavors!

Mattillo

Thank you Vik! Blessings on your future endeavors.

If we sent you emails in the past and they are still pending, will you pass them along to your successor?

Vik Rajagopal

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288217#Comment_1288217

Thank you Vik! Blessings on your future endeavors.

If we sent you emails in the past and they are still pending, will you pass them along to your successor?

Yes, will do.

Thank you all for the kind words! I will still pop into the forums from time to time, although now as a user just like the rest of you. [:D]

Vik

Rick Brannan

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1289156#Comment_1289156

I will still pop into the forums from time to time, although now as a user just like the rest of you.

Welcome to user-land, Vik. It's a pretty great place to be.

GaoLu

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1289192#Comment_1289192

Thanks Vik, for all your hard work and the many meaningful improvements in Logos. Good job! God bless you in your journey forward.

We are looking forward to more positive direction for Logos.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1289200#Comment_1289200

And in the midst of all this turmoil going on, where is Bill McArthy? There’s been zero words from the new CEO.

DAL

Philip Storey

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288096#Comment_1288096

In Reply to Matt Bennett: "Kiyah - Vik is correct in saying that expanding our content offerings from top academic publishers is one of the areas my team and I are focused on. Are there specific publishers you had in mind, whose content you value highly?"

Thank you. I would like to see a greater diversity of recognised scholarly opinions; and earlier layers of scholarship up to mid-20th Century. Some of the older titles in SCM Press. Authors like Dodd, Barrett, Jeremias, Caird, Thielicke even Bultmann, Tillich, Cupitt. I know that these are not evangelical voices, but they would be helpful to add to an academic suite of resources. I do notice that a pre-pub for Crossan never got off the ground presumably because of lack of interest, but it didn't include his most 'challenging' works.

NB.Mick

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1290028#Comment_1290028

And in the midst of all this turmoil going on, where is Bill McArthy? There’s been zero words from the new CEO.

Just to not let this stand unanswered, the words from the new CEO are here: https://community.logos.com/forums/t/221746.aspx

xnman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1291639#Comment_1291639

I would like to see a good set of commentaries written by Church of Christ authors.... something like "Truth for Today" commentaries. Great commentaries and they sell a lot.

Darryl Burling

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1288096#Comment_1288096

Since you asked... Peter Lang is an academic publisher which has a lot of books that are really expensive in print, and which would be a great addition to Logos. I've resisted buying them for a long time (mostly) but if they were on Logos, I'd buy them.

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