Contact: Joni Sullivan Baker, Buoyancy PR, 513-319-3231, jbaker@buoyancypr.com

CINCINNATI, June 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- William R. Reed, 30-year veteran of specialty book and magazine publishing, has been named chief executive officer of CFM Religion Publishing Group, LLC (CFM), the company announced today.

Reed joined CFM in December 2007 as Chief Operating Officer after a nearly 20 year career at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, Iowa, (publisher of Better Homes and Gardens) and at F+W Publishing, the Cincinnati-based special interest magazine and book publisher. In his new position, Reed will direct the strategic growth and development of CFM operating companies, while continuing to explore opportunities for additional acquisitions that complement these existing businesses.

CFM is a private, equity-backed company headquartered in Cincinnati that publishes Christian books and curriculum products focused on teaching, empowering and inspiring children and adults. CFM owns two publishing companies: Standard Publishing in Cincinnati, a non-denominational Christian publisher which since 1866 has produced true-to-the-Bible church resources, curriculum and books, and RCL Benziger, a Catholic educational publisher that provides religious curriculum for Catholic schools and parish programs. RCL Benziger, which is based in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas, has product lines dating back to the late 1700s, under the Benziger brand.

Maryann Nead of Dallas serves as the president of RCL Benziger. A national executive search currently is underway to fill the president position at Standard Publishing.

CFM is an affiliate of The Wicks Group of Companies, LLC , a New York-based private equity fund that invests in selected segments of the communications, information, and media industries. It founded CFM in 2006 when it acquired Standard Publishing, then expanded its holdings in 2007 with the acquisition of RCL and Benziger, which were brought together to operate as RCL Benziger.

Reed is from Chicago and a graduate of DePaul University. He and his wife Colleen reside in Indian Hill, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.

For more information about the companies, go to www.cfmreligionpublishing.com, www.standardpub.com, or www.rclbenziger.com