Adtalem CEO Lisa Wardell leaves her post

  • Push-out Score determined
  • After about five and a half years in the position
  • Praise for Wardell
  • Steve Beard taking over
  • Wardell will remain as executive chairman at Adtalem
  • Wardell made a lengthy statement and said 259 words

(exechange) — Chicago, Illinois, August 6, 2021 — Lisa Wardell, chief executive of Adtalem, leaves her position. As announced by Adtalem Global Education Inc. in a news release published on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 and in a regulatory filing published on Friday, August 6, 2021, Lisa W. Wardell leaves her post as chief executive officer at the operator of for-profit higher education institutions after about five and a half years in the role, effective September 8, 2021.

Lisa Wardell’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Stephen W. (Steve) Beard, currently chief operating officer at Adtalem Global Education Inc.

“Accelerate our path to growth”

Adtalem did not give an explicit reason for Lisa Wardell’s departure from the CEO post. Adtalem said: “These changes are the result of a thorough board-led succession planning process designed to drive continuity and continued momentum and accelerate our path to growth.”

Wardell will remain as executive chairman at Adtalem

“Wardell, currently chairman and CEO, will transition to the role of executive chairman of the board of directors for a one-year term,” Adtalem said.

Adtalem said: “Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE), a leading workforce solutions provider, today announced that Stephen Beard, currently chief operating officer, will succeed Lisa Wardell as chief executive officer and be elected to the company’s board of directors, effective September 8.”

Adtalem further said: “Mr. Beard succeeds Ms. Lisa W. Wardell, who has served as ATGE’s president and chief executive officer since May 24, 2016, and chairman of the board since July 16, 2019.”

Share price decline since August 2018

The announcement follows a decline in Adtalem Global Education Inc.’s share price of 32% since August 2018.

In the position of CEO since 2016

Lisa Wardell became CEO of the Company in 2016.

In her role as executive chairman, Wardell will continue to help guide the company’s strategy and mission.

Wardell has been a director of Adtalem since November 2008 and was appointed as the President and CEO of Adtalem in 2016 and Chairman of the Board in 2019.

Wardell was previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The RLJ Companies (“RLJ”), a diversified holding company with portfolio companies in the financial services, asset management, real estate, hospitality, media and entertainment, and gaming industries for 12 years.

In her role at RLJ, Wardell closed $40 million in automotive dealership acquisitions and served as the Executive Vice President of RML Automotive, the 19th largest automotive dealership group in the U.S., and served on the Board of Naylor, Inc., an RLJ Equity Partners’ portfolio company. In addition, Wardell served as the primary RLJ fundraiser for a $610 million money management fund and managed a hotel development project in West Africa.

In 2010, Wardell served as the Chief Financial Officer of a special purpose acquisition company that formed RLJ Entertainment, Inc., where she subsequently served as a director.

Prior to joining RLJ, Wardell was a Principal at Katalyst Venture Partners, a private equity firm that invested in start-up technology companies in the media and communications industries from 1999 to 2003.

From 1998 to 1999, Wardell worked as a senior consultant for Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company.

From 1994 to 1996, Wardell was an attorney with the Federal Communications Commission where she worked in the commercial wireless division.

Wardell received her undergraduate bachelor’s degree in Political Science and African studies from Vassar College, her J.D. degree from Stanford University, and her Master’s Degree in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Among numerous recognitions, she was recently selected by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” (2017) and has been featured on Savoy Magazine’s™ Power 300: Most Influential Black Corporate Directors list (2017 and 2016).

Wardell is often featured for her strategic insights by media outlets, including Bloomberg, Fortune, Politico, Investor’s Business Daily, Inside Higher Ed, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.

Push-out Score determined

The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Lisa Wardell’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.

exechange reached out to Adtalem and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.

Read the full story in the exechange report 32.2021 ($).