Career Education Corporation (CEC) (NASDAQ: CECO), a global provider of
postsecondary education programs and services, today announced the
hiring of Daniel J. Hurdle as Senior Vice President, Chief Career
Schools Officer. Hurdle leads the new, consolidated Career Schools
Education Group, encompassing more than 70 culinary, health, and art &
design education campuses serving more than 40,000 students across the
United States. Hurdle’s role will better position these institutions to
deliver academic service excellence to a broad and diverse student
population, compete more effectively in the higher education marketplace
and help successfully execute the company’s current business plans and
strategies.
Dan Hurdle joins Career Education Corporation as Senior Vice President, Chief Career Schools Officer. (Photo: Business Wire)
Hurdle brings a successful operating and strategic background to the
task of consolidating the company’s career-focused schools, as well as
considerable experience with complex business turnarounds. Hurdle will
lead efforts to gain synergies and greater competitive advantage from
fewer, more focused institution brands. Hurdle has a proven track record
of driving quality service and high customer satisfaction as part of
turning around several operations. His experience and expertise will be
key to the long-term success of the company’s career academic
institutions.
Hurdle joins CEC from Caribou Coffee Company, the second largest premium
coffeehouse in the United States, where he most recently served as
Senior Vice President, Retail. Hurdle led Caribou’s more than 580
coffeehouses, including all company-operated and franchise locations in
the U.S., as well as international franchise stores. In roles at
Caribou, he significantly improved customer satisfaction, leading to the
company’s recognition as a JD Power Service Excellence Award
winner. Hurdle developed new product strategies that turned the company
from rapidly declining sales to experiencing healthy growth – skills
that should benefit the student experience and institutional excellence
at CEC’s career schools.
Previously, Hurdle served as Senior Vice President, Strategy and
Business Development, at Washington Mutual, where he led the financial
institution’s development and execution of new growth strategies for
multiple business and functional groups. Hurdle earlier served as Vice
President of Strategy, Food and Existing Stores portfolio at Starbucks
Coffee Company. He dramatically improved operational excellence,
consumer appeal and customer demand for food offerings of the world’s
largest coffeehouse chain, doubling Starbucks’ food sales per store.
Hurdle led development and implementation of successful strategies
resulting in double-digit growth in comparable stores sales.
Hurdle gained early experience at McKinsey & Company, the global
management consulting firm. Before launching his successful business
career, Hurdle led extensive and mission critical operations management
as a Nuclear Submarine Officer in the United States Navy. Hurdle holds a
master’s degree in Management Science from Cambridge University, where
he was a Marshall Scholar, and a B.S. degree in Control Engineering from
the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating second in his class.
"Dan knows how to reshape an organization to better serve customers, and
to generate growth in doing so,” said Chairman, President and CEO Steven
H. Lesnik. “His strong operational and marketing experience positions
him well to lead the new, consolidated Career Services Education Group
to optimize our student offerings and better define and differentiate
our school brands, consistent with our strategic plans. I’m highly
confident he will drive our career institutions back on a course of
success, service and growth."
About Career Education Corporation
The colleges, schools and universities that are part of the Career
Education Corporation ("CEC") family offer high-quality education to a
diverse population of approximately 95,000 students across the world in
a variety of career-oriented disciplines through online, on-ground and
hybrid learning program offerings. The more than 90 campuses that serve
these students are located throughout the United States and in France,
the United Kingdom and Monaco, and offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's
and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs.
CEC is an industry leader whose institutions are recognized globally.
Those institutions include, among others, American InterContinental
University ("AIU"); Brooks Institute; Colorado Technical University
("CTU"); Harrington College of Design; INSEEC Group ("INSEEC") Schools;
International University of Monaco ("IUM"); International Academy of
Design & Technology ("IADT"); Le Cordon Bleu North America ("LCB"); and
Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. Through its schools, CEC is
committed to providing high-quality education, enabling students to
graduate and pursue rewarding career opportunities.
For more information, see CEC's website at www.careered.com.
The website includes a detailed listing of individual campus locations
and web links to CEC's colleges, schools, and universities.
Except for the historical and present factual information contained
herein, the matters set forth in this release, including statements
identified by words such as “will,” "anticipate," "believe," "plan,"
"expect," "intend," "should," "potential" and similar expressions, are
forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on
information currently available to us and are subject to various
assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our
results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, performance,
business prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those
expressed in, or implied by, these statements. Except as expressly
required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to
update or revise such factors or any of the forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect future events, developments or changed
circumstances, or for any other reason. These risks and uncertainties,
the outcomes of which could materially and adversely affect our
financial condition and operations, include, but are not limited to, the
following: changes in enrollment, student mix and average
registered credits taken by students; our ability to implement effective
cost reduction strategies; our continued compliance with and eligibility
to participate in Title IV Programs under the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended, and the regulations thereunder (including the "90-10
Rule" and gainful employment regulations), as well as regional and
national accreditation standards and state regulatory requirements; our
ability to obtain accrediting agency approvals for existing or new
programs and to successfully defend litigation and other claims brought
against us; rulemaking by the U.S. Department of Education and increased
focus by the U.S. Congress and governmental agencies on for-profit
education institutions; and changes in the overall U.S. or global
economy. Further information about these and other relevant risks
and uncertainties may be found in CEC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 and its subsequent filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50326118〈en
