COLUMBUS, Ohio (ELCA) -- Two newly appointed vice presidents were introduced to the board of trustees of Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), during the board's April 27-29 meeting here. They are Tia Simons, vice president, consumer business group, and Kenneth J. Brokamp, vice president, ecumenical business group.
Their appointments resulted from the publisher's reorganization, which took place over the past six months. The new company is composed of several business groups that will target their products to various audiences.
Simons will lead the business group responsible for products marketed directly to consumers. She has nearly 20 years' experience in building businesses, most recently as a management consultant with AVEUS, Minneapolis, a firm specializing in Internet strategy development and Internet business solutions implementation.
Previously Simons was with Travelers Express, Minneapolis, where she held several senior management positions, including director of customer development and marketing director for retail services. She also worked for several years with American Express Financial Advisors, where she held a variety of business development positions. Simons is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., and earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Brokamp has nearly 20 years' experience in publishing, most recently as vice president and director of the sales/marketing/customer services division at Oregon Catholic Press, Portland. He also worked with Glencoe, a division of McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., Tabor Publishing and Wm. C. Brown (now Harcourt Religion Publishers).
Brokamp taught school for 10 years, has been a musical performer and has written for television programs and the stage. Brokamp is a graduate of Ohio Dominican College, Columbus.
As part of its reorganization, Augsburg Fortress previously announced several executive appointments. They are Charles C. Halberg, executive vice president and chief operating officer; Kenneth G. Hartwell, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, George W. Poehlman, vice president for finance and treasurer; Dana Dreibelbis, vice president, ELCA business group; the Rev. Henry F. French, vice president, academic and professional development group; Keith Moore, vice president, e-business; Rachel Riensche, vice president, corporate affairs; Sandra Middendorf, vice president, human resources; Bruce Keil, vice president, operations; and the Rev. Marvin L. Roloff, president and chief executive officer. In 1999 Roloff was elected to a second = four-year=20 term by the board of trustees.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
