Todd S. Nelson
Todd S. Nelson has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a Director since February 2007. Mr. Nelson also served as our President from February 2007 to December 2008. Mr. Nelson worked as an independent consultant from January 2006 through January 2007 and for Apollo Group, Inc. from 1987 through January 2006. Mr. Nelson served in various roles with Apollo Group, Inc. and was appointed President in February 1998, Chief Executive Officer in August 2001 and Chairman of the Board in June 2004. Mr. Nelson was a member of the faculty at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas from 1983 to 1984. Based on his long and distinguished experience in the for-profit post-secondary education industry and as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr. Nelson provides the Board of Directors with a unique understanding of the operations of the Company.
Mick J. Beekhuizen
Mick J. Beekhuizen joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 2000 and has been a Managing Director in the Merchant Banking Division since 2010. Prior to joining the Merchant Banking Division in New York in 2004, Mr. Beekhuizen worked in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in Frankfurt, Germany. As a designee of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Mr. Beekhuizen provides the Board of Directors with strong analytical skills when evaluating capital structure alternatives and transactions.
Samuel C. Cowley
Samuel C. Cowley served as Executive Vice President, Business Development, General Counsel and Secretary of Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., a seller of over-the-counter healthcare products, from May 2008 until its sale in February 2011. Since the sale of Matrixx Initiatives, Mr. Cowley has worked as a corporate attorney and investor. Prior to joining Matrixx Initiatives, Mr. Cowley served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Swift Transportation Co., Inc. and was a member of Swift Transportation’s board of directors from March 2005 to May 2007. Mr. Cowley previously was a partner with the law firm of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. Mr. Cowley was a director of Matrixx Initiatives from July 2005 to February 2011. Mr. Cowley’s career as an attorney in private practice as well as a senior executive and director of companies provides the Board of Directors with a valuable mix of legal expertise and operational management skills.
Adrian M. Jones
Adrian M. Jones joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 1994 and has been a Managing Director within the Principal Investment Area of its Merchant Banking Division since 2002, where he focuses on consumer-related and healthcare opportunities and is also a member of the Corporate Investment Committee of the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. He serves on the board of directors of Dollar General Corporation, a publicly traded discount retailer, and is a director of Biomet, Inc., HealthMarkets, Inc., Michael Foods Inc., Sagitarrius Brands, Inc. and Signature Hospital Holding, LLC, each of which is privately-held. Mr. Jones, who is a designee of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, provides the Board of Directors with a broad background addressing capital structure issues as both a private investor and as a director of publicly traded and privately-held companies.
Jeffrey T. Leeds
Jeffrey T. Leeds is the co-founder of Leeds Equity Partners, LLC, a leading New York-based private equity firm focusing on the education, training and information services industries. Prior to co-founding Leeds Equity Partners, Mr. Leeds spent seven years specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance at Lazard Freres & Co. Prior to joining Lazard Freres & Co., Mr. Leeds served as a law clerk to the Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Leeds also worked in the corporate department of the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. Mr. Leeds currently serves as a director of SeatonCorp, RealPage, Inc., a publicly traded provider of on-demand software solutions for the rental housing industry, Instituto de Banca y Comercio and BarBri, Inc. Mr. Leeds has previously served as a director of Ross University, Argosy University and Datamark, Inc., among others. Mr. Leeds graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. degree in History and attended Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. Mr. Leeds earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Mr. Leeds, who is a designee of Leeds Equity Partners, brings to the Board of Directors his vast experience in the education and related industries as well as his strong legal, financial and business acumen.
John R. McKernan, Jr.
John R. McKernan, Jr. is our Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. McKernan served as our Executive Chairman from February 2007 to December 2008 and our Chief Executive Officer from September 2003 until February 2007. Mr. McKernan joined us as our Vice Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors in June 1999. In March 2003, he became our President and served in that office until September 2003. Mr. McKernan is also a director of BorgWarner Inc., a publicly traded producer of engineered components and vehicle powertrain system applications, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a privately-held global learning company, and served as Governor of the State of Maine from 1987 to 1995. Mr. McKernan brings to the Board of Directors and the Chairman position his extensive knowledge of the Company’s business, structure, history and culture along with his understanding of the legislative process based on his experience in government.
Leo F. Mullin
Leo F. Mullin retired as Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines, Inc. in December 2003 and Chairman in April 2004, after having served as Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines, Inc. since 1997 and Chairman since 1999. Mr. Mullin currently serves in a consultative capacity as a Senior Advisor, on a part-time basis, to Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Mr. Mullin was Vice Chairman of Unicom Corporation and its principal subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison Company, from 1995 to 1997. He was an executive of First Chicago Corporation from 1981 to 1995, serving as that company’s President and Chief Operating Officer from 1993 to 1995, and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American National Bank, a subsidiary of First Chicago Corporation, from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Mullin serves as a director of Johnson & Johnson, a publicly traded manufacturer of pharmaceutical and healthcare products, and ACE Limited, a publicly traded provider of insurance and reinsurance services, and is a director of Michael Foods, Inc., Kenan Advantage Group, Inc. Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, and U.S. Security Associates, Inc., each of which is privately-held. He is the immediate past board chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Mr. Mullin previously served as a director of Bell South Corporation. Mr. Mullin’s experience from having served as Chairman and CEO of one of the nation’s largest airlines and his long and distinguished career in the banking industry make him a skilled advisor on operational and financial matters.
Paul J. Salem
Paul J. Salem is a Senior Managing Director and a co-founder of Providence Equity Partners. Prior to joining Providence Equity Partners in 1992, Mr. Salem worked for Morgan Stanley & Co. in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that time, Mr. Salem spent four years with Prudential Investment Corporation, an affiliate of Prudential Insurance, where his responsibilities included leveraged buyout transactions and helping to establish Prudential’s European investment office. Mr. Salem is also a director of N.E.W. Asurion Corp., a provider of technology protection services, and NexTag, Inc., a provider of online comparison shopping, and previously served as a director of PanAmSat Holding Corporation. Mr. Salem, who is a designee of Providence Equity Partners, provides the Board of Directors with a broadbased background in analyzing business operations, models, strategic plans and financial statements.
Peter O. Wilde
Peter O. Wilde is a Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners. Prior to joining Providence Equity Partners in 2002, Mr. Wilde was a General Partner at BCI Partners, where he began his career in private equity investing in 1992. Mr. Wilde is also a director of N.E.W. Asurion Corp., a provider of technology protection services, Decision Resources, Inc., Ascend Learning, which owns Assessment Technologies Institute and Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Edline Holdings LLC, and Study Group Pty Limited, and is chairman of Archipelago Learning, Inc., a publicly-traded subscription based online education company. Mr. Wilde previously served as a director of IkaSystems Corporation, Medical Media Holdings LLC, Pluris, Inc., Survey Sampling International LLC, Vendome Associates, Virtual Radiologic Corporation, Colorado Cinema Group LLC and Kerasotes Theatres, Inc. Mr. Wilde, who is a designee of Providence Equity Partners, brings to the Board of Directors his extensive understanding of private equity and financial matters and experience as an investor in and director of several other companies in the education industry.
Joseph R. Wright
Joseph R. Wright currently serves as Chairman of Seamobile/MTN Satellite Communications and is a director of Federal Signal Corporation, where he serves on the Compensation and Benefits Committee, and Cowen Group, Inc., where he serves on the Audit Committee. From May 2008 to December 2009, Mr. Wright served in executive positions at Scientific Games Corporation, including as Chief Executive Officer from January 2009 to December 2009. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Wright was Chairman of Intelsat Ltd., a leading global provider of fixed satellite services, having previously served as Chief Executive Officer of PanAmSat, a publicly-listed satellite-based services business, from 2001 until its acquisition by Intelsat in 2006. Prior to joining PanAmSat, Mr. Wright served in various executive positions, including as Chairman of GRC International, Co-Chairman of Baker & Taylor Holdings, Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of W.R. Grace & Company, Chairman of Grace Energy Company and President of Grace Environmental Company. Mr. Wright also currently serves as Senior Advisor to Chart Capital Partners, the Comvest Group and Providence Equity Partners. Under President Reagan, Mr. Wright served as Deputy Director, then Director, of the Federal Office of Management and Budget and a member of President Reagan’s Cabinet, and earlier as Deputy Secretary of Commerce. President Reagan awarded Mr. Wright the Distinguished Citizens Award in 1988. Mr. Wright also served and continues to serve on other government councils and committees. Mr. Wright’s extensive entrepreneurial, operational and financial experience, as well as his extensive background in the public sector, provide us with unique insight into business and regulatory matters.