Tom Gordon Appointed COO of Catholic Extension

CHICAGO, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Catholic Church Extension Society President Rev. John J. Wall announced the appointment of Tom Gordon to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Chicago-based nonprofit agency, which is the leading supporter of Catholic missions in the U.S.

Gordon's role is part of an initiative of Fr. Wall and the Catholic Extension Board of Governors to revitalize and restructure the agency in order to address the growing needs of the Catholic Church in America's mission areas, now and in the future.

Gordon was an instrumental member of Fr. Wall's initial team that helped revitalize Chicago's Old St. Pat's parish 25 years ago. At that time, when Fr. Wall took the role as pastor of the struggling parish, only a handful of parishioners occupied the pews for Sunday Mass, but by the time Fr. Wall left his role as pastor to assume leadership of Catholic Extension, the church had grown to more than 3,000 members and is recognized nationally for its remarkable turnaround and for its active and involved parish life.

Gordon's broad-based business background includes leadership roles in large American corporations, entrepreneurial firms, and small start-ups. He received his MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Illinois, and has more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing, sales, and finance.

In his role as COO at Catholic Extension, Gordon will provide the platform to support Fr. Wall's vision for the future of the organization as a national and vital voice and support system for struggling missions in the U.S. Gordon plans to institute a "best practices" model as part of strategic planning, which is already underway at Catholic Extension.

"Tom Gordon brings strong managerial credentials and experience to his new responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer," Fr. Wall said. "At a time when Catholic institutions are striving for greater transparency and accountability, I am fully confident that he will bring a new level of effectiveness, creativity, and a passion for excellence to the mission and organization of the Catholic Church Extension Society."

"A strategic plan is not a piece of paper," Gordon commented. "It's a continual process, an ongoing activity, where decisions and actions are made with the thought of 'how does this support where we want to be going?' We're bringing in best practices in order to provide the maximum amount of resources for those U.S. missions in need.

"Catholic Extension is extending the organization's reach to a new generation of Catholics, and part of that effort is a newly redesigned and interactive website to engage younger donors to the mission and encourage them to support the vital work of supporting missionaries in poor and remote areas where they are so desperately needed, as well as providing funds for church-building, seminarian education, and disaster relief.

"We need to effectively communicate the needs of America's missions to a broad donor base and provide these donors with specific results demonstrating the impact of their support," Gordon said.