Blackboard Inc. Expands Board and Announces New Appointments
April 23 2007 - 5:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blackboard Inc.
(NASDAQ:BBBB) announced today that it has expanded the number of
directors permitted to serve on the board to nine people and
appointed Joseph L. Cowan, Thomas Kalinske and Beth Kaplan, to the
company's Board of Directors. "Today, we have enhanced our board of
directors significantly with the addition of three executives with
significant operational and financial expertise," said Matthew
Pittinsky, chairman and co-founder of Blackboard Inc. "I am pleased
to welcome Joe, Tom and Beth to the board." E. Rogers Novak,
managing member of Novak Biddle Venture Partners and chairman of
the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Blackboard board of
directors, said, "The board and Blackboard management identified
areas of expertise and qualifications that would improve our
effectiveness, and made it a priority to add directors with strong
financial and general management, especially from the software and
education industries. Our new directors are very accomplished
individuals with the highest integrity. They will provide
Blackboard's senior management team with additional resources to
assist in shaping and executing the company's strategy." New Board
Member Profiles Joseph L. Cowan Joseph L. Cowan brings to
Blackboard a proven track record of working with enterprise
software companies with broad product portfolios and global
operations. Mr. Cowan currently serves as chief executive officer
of Interwoven (NASDAQ:IWOV). Recently, Cowan served as chief
executive officer of Manugistics Group, Inc. a leading global
provider of demand and supply chain management solutions. Prior to
joining Manugistics, Cowan was president and chief executive
officer at EXE Technologies. Previously, Cowan has also held
management positions at Invensys, Texas Instruments, Eurotherm Corp
and Monsanto. Mr. Cowan received a MS in electrical engineering
from Arizona State University and holds a BS in electrical
engineering from Auburn University. Thomas Kalinske Thomas Kalinske
currently serves as vice chairman of the board of Leapfrog
Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:LF) and has served as a director of Leapfrog
since 1997. From September 1997 to July 2006, Mr. Kalinske served
as CEO of Leapfrog and was the Chairman of the board of directors
of Leapfrog from September 1997 to February 2004. Mr. Kalinske
served as the president of Knowledge Universe LLC (now renamed
Krest LLC) , a private company focused on building leading
companies in areas relating to education, technology and career
management and the improvement of individual and corporate
performance. From 1990 to 1996, he served as president and chief
executive officer of Sega of America. From 1987 to 1990, he was
president and chief executive officer of the Universal Matchbox
Group. From 1985 to 1987, he served as president and co-chief
executive officer of Mattel, Inc. Mr. Kalinske served in other
senior management positions at Mattel from 1972 to 1985. Mr.
Kalinske is a past board member of the National Education
Association Foundation for the Improvement of Education and of the
RAND Education Board. Mr. Kalinske received a BS degree from the
University of Wisconsin and a MBA degree from the University of
Arizona. Beth Kaplan Beth Kaplan heads Axcel Partners, a
Baltimore-based venture capital firm she helped found in 2001. Ms.
Kaplan has been responsible for brand management and marketing for
several of the nation's leading retailers and consumer products
during her career. She was executive vice president and general
manager for Bath & Body Works, a division of Limited Brands,
where she pioneered the development of 64 beauty specialty stores.
She also served as senior executive vice president of marketing and
merchandising at Rite Aid Drugstores. Between 1994 and 1996, she
was president and general manager of Noxell, the cosmetics division
of Procter & Gamble that included the Cover Girl and Max Factor
brands. She also served as a general manager of several brands
under the Procter & Gamble food division. Kaplan holds an
undergraduate degree in economics and an MBA from The Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania where she is a member of
the board of overseers. Ms. Kaplan previously served as a director
of Blackboard from July 2000 to August 2001. Other Blackboard board
members, including Matthew Pittinsky, chairman of Blackboard Inc.;
Michael L. Chasen, president and chief executive officer of
Blackboard Inc.; Frank R. Gatti, chief financial officer of
Educational Testing Service; E. Rogers Novak, co-founder of Novak
Biddle Venture Partners; William Raduchel; and Dr. Arthur Levine,
president of The Woodrow Wilson Foundation. About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise software
applications and related services to the education industry.
Founded in 1997, Blackboard enables educational innovations
everywhere by connecting people and technology. Millions of people
use Blackboard everyday at academic institutions around the globe,
including colleges, universities, K-12 schools and other education
providers, as well as textbook publishers and student- focused
merchants that serve education providers and their students.
Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in
North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Blackboard Educate.
Innovate. Everywhere.(TM) DATASOURCE: Blackboard Inc. CONTACT:
Michael J. Stanton, Vice President, Investor Relations of
Blackboard Inc., +1-202-463-4860 ext. 2305 Web site:
http://www.blackboard.com/
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