RESTON, Va., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SLM Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has added the Chief Executive Officer title and responsibilities to its Executive Chairman Albert L. Lord. C.E. Andrews, the previous CEO, will assume the role of President.
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Mr. Lord has served as Chairman of the Board of Sallie Mae since March 2005. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Lord served as the company's Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, beginning in 1997. During his tenure as CEO, the company delivered at least 15-percent growth in earnings per share each year, and quadrupled its market capitalization. Under Mr. Lord's leadership, the company was also recognized for its high standards of corporate governance and employment practices.
Mr. Lord held various executive officer positions with Sallie Mae from 1981 to 1994. In 1995, he rejoined Sallie Mae as an independent director, and subsequently led a successful proxy contest to restore shareholder value.
"After the distractions of the last several months, the Board of Directors is pleased to have Al Lord serve again as the company's CEO," said Alex Porter, Director. "He brings stability of leadership and vision to Salle Mae during a challenging environment in the financial markets. He has a record of providing strong results to shareholders and customers.
"The Board and Sallie Mae management look forward to focusing our attention and efforts on helping students save and pay for college."
Mr. Porter added, "The Board would also like to thank C.E. Andrews for his leadership during the challenges of the past seven months, and looks forward to working with Al, C.E. and the rest of the executive leadership team to grow Sallie Mae's industry-leading position."
In addition, Sallie Mae announced that Mr. Lord today sold 1.2 million shares of SLM common stock, approximately 10 percent of his equity units, on the open market. This action was required under Mr. Lord's borrowing arrangements. Sallie Mae opened its trading window for directors and executive officers today for the first time since discussions with the J.C. Flowers group in March 2007. After the sale, Mr. Lord owns approximately 340,000 SLM shares and share units, and holds stock options and appreciation rights, at various exercise prices, covering approximately 10 million SLM shares.
"This stock sale has been painful, and was dictated by the specific terms of my securities account," said Mr. Lord. "I uniquely identify with shareholders' disappointment and frustration with this transaction. I have spent most of the past 26 years at Sallie Mae. Our Board, our management and I are determined to deliver the type of earnings growth and shareholder value that we have consistently achieved for the 10 years before this deal."
SLM Corporation , commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The company manages more than $160 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages $15 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and assists 7.5 million members with automatic savings through rebates on everyday purchases. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at http://www.salliemae.com/. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
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