Somersault Group Announces New General Manager

The Somersault Group Announces a New General Manager – Joe Sherman. 

September 9, 2014

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Somersault Group (Somersault) announced today that General Manager, John Topliff, has retired after 39 years in the Christian retailing and publishing industries. The company is pleased to announce that Joe Sherman has accepted the General Manager position, effective immediately.

Joe has over three decades of experience in Christian publishing and marketing. Currently he is the Owner and CEO of Marketing and Publishing Strategies (MAPS), a company that specializes in helping Christian publishers and ministries develop and distribute products to churches. He will integrate the Somersault and MAPS services to provide even more value to the clients of both organizations. For over 23 years, Joe was Senior Vice President for Zondervan, a Division of HarperCollins. He also served as the Executive Vice President of Publishing for Willow Creek Resources for six years. Joe has led the development of many best-selling products.

“We are grateful for John Topliff’s leadership, and thrilled to have Joe at the helm of Somersault,” said Jeannette Taylor, Partner, and Research & Product Development Architect, “Joe brings deep publishing experience, proven leadership skill, experience in the digital space, and the ability to help Somersault clients cost-effectively reach the 300,000+ Christian churches in the U.S.”

Founded in July of 2010, Somersault is a Christian publishing strategy and services agency that serves an innovative client base including commercial publishers, content creators, ministry organizations, and literary agents. Somersault provides product concepts, publishing strategy, brand consulting, market research, editorial direction and services, marketing strategy, package design, electronic formatting, Internet and social media presence, website development, advertising, merchandising, and distribution solutions in its comprehensive portfolio of publishing and marketing services.

“Somersault’s mission is to change lives by connecting inspirational content creators with readers using exceptional creativity, right-now technology, and old-fashioned personal care,” said Cindy Lambert, Publishing Strategist. “I’ve worked with Joe previously at Zondervan and know that he aligns perfectly with our mission.”

Somersault’s team includes: Jeannette Taylor—Research and Development Architect,  Dave Lambert—Editorial Director, Cindy Lambert, Publishing Strategist, John Sawyer, Branding and Marketing Director, Estee Wells Zandee — Publishing Assistant, and now Joe Sherman —General Manager.

Somersault Group™ (Somersault™) is a member-managed LLC with offices in Grand Haven, Michigan. Our purpose is to enable ministry organizations, Christian authors, agents, and publishers to quickly leverage rapid changes in communication technology, emphasize excellence in branding and marketing communication for an author’s business development, and extend the highest editorial standards to achieve the goal of helping people experience God’s kingdom. For more information visit www.SomersaultGroup.com. Media contact: Estee Wells Zandee, (616) 850-0545 or ewells@somersaultgroup.com.