LearningStar Corp. Announces Additions to Its Board of Directors Following Completion of Combination; New Education Commerce Company Invites Business Leaders to Serve on Board.
Business/Technology Editors
MONTEREY, Calif. & NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2001
Q1 Conference Call to take Place On Tuesday May 15th at 10am EST
LearningStar Corp. (NASDAQ: LRNS), a developer, manufacturer, and retailer of educational products, today announced three new members have been appointed to the its Board of Directors: Dr. Louis Casagrande, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Children's Museum in Boston; Mr. Dean DeBiase, Chairman of Autoweb, a leading consumer and business automotive Internet service; and Mr. Richard Delaney, retired partner of Grant Thornton LLP. They will join Al Noyes, Chairman of the Board and the former Chief Operating Officer of SmarterKids.com, Inc. and five previously named members of the Board: Ron Elliott, Chief Executive Officer of LearningStar; Scott Graves, a principal of William E Simon & Sons Private Equity Group; Stephen Kaplan, a principal of Oaktree Capital Management, LLC; Michael Kolowich, Vice Chariman and Director of NewsEdge Corporation; and Robert MacDonald, Managing Director and President of William E. Simon & Sons Private Equity Group.
According to Ron Elliott, "We are honored to have such a strong team of business leaders on the LearningStar Board. This is a very exciting and critical time for the company and we will greatly benefit from their on-going guidance and expertise. The experience of our newest Board members will greatly complement the strengths of our previously identified members. Dr. Casagrande's more than 20 years of academic, marketing, and museum experience, accompanied by Mr. DeBiase's extensive business development knowledge, and Mr. Delaney's financial and international business background will prove valuable assets to the LearningStar team."
About the LearningStar Corp. Board Members:
Al Noyes is Chairman of the Board and has over 20 years of sales and marketing, technology, and corporate development expertise. Previously, Mr. Noyes served as SmarterKids.com's Chief Operating Officer and before that served as its Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. Mr. Noyes also served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for SmarterKids.com. Prior to joining SmarterKids.com, Mr. Noyes served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing of net.Genesis, a developer and marketer of Web site usage and performance analysis products. Mr. Noyes served as Chief Executive Officer of The Mesa Group, a developer and marketer of messaging and groupware software, which was subsequently acquired by Microsoft. Mr. Noyes also served as Venture Partner/Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Highland Capital, a venture capital firm.
