Directorate Change

22 Jun 2005 07:00

AEC Education plc22 June 2005 Press Release 22 June 2005 AEC Education plc ("AEC" or the "Company") AEC strengthens its Board AEC Education plc (AEC.L), the provider of educational courses up topostgraduate degree level in Singapore and Malaysia, announces that ChristopherHutchinson has been appointed Chief Executive with effect from 1 August 2005. Currently Academic and Operations Director of the London College of Accountancy,a post he will resign on taking up his new appointment, Mr Hutchinson has heldseveral senior positions in both business and academia, among them ChiefExecutive at Emile Woolfe Colleges, a division of Nord Anglia Education plc. Aqualified Accountant, he was previously Professor and Head of Accounting andFinance at Nottingham Trent University and is a past Chairman of the BritishAccounting Association. He was also Professor, Deputy Principal and Director ofthe Business School at Southampton Institute. Ramasamy Jayapal, a qualified Accountant and currently the Chief Executive ofAEC, is to become Finance Director of the Company, effective from 1 August 2005.Mr Jayapal has a significant finance and accounting background, and currentlyserves on two sub-committees of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants ofSingapore, was the Vice President of the Association of Certified and CharteredAccountants (ACCA Singapore) and the Immediate Past President of the Instituteof Management Consultants Singapore. He also has more than 15 years ofmanagement experience in the education industry and has co-authored four bookson Singapore and Malaysian taxation. Ravi Manchanda, currently Finance Director, will resign from the Board and theCompany upon Mr Jayapal taking up his new role. It has long been both MrManchanda's and the Board's intention for him to leave after helping guide theCompany through its AIM flotation, and the appointment of a UK-resident ChiefExecutive provides a suitable opportunity. Liam Swords, AEC Chairman, said: "Having last month announced our encouragingUnaudited Results for the year ended 31 December 2004, we are pleased toannounce this further positive news and welcome Christopher Hutchinson as ChiefExecutive, as well as to congratulate Ramasamy Jayapal on his appointment asFinance Director. "Coming as they do after the appointment of Associate Professor Chan Yoke Kai asthe Chief Operating Officer and President of our Singapore operating company,AEC Edu Group Pte Ltd, in February 2005, these appointments further strengthenthe senior management team and position the Company fully to exploit its strongposition in the international market for business educational services. "The Board would like to thank Ravi Manchanda for his valuable contributionduring and after the AIM listing. His contribution has greatly assisted inAEC's success to date and we wish him every success for the future." There are no details requiring disclosure in respect of paragraph 17 of the AIMRules for Mr Hutchinson. For further information: AEC Education plcLiam Swords, Chairman Tel: +44 (0) 20 8309 1473 Media enquiries: Abchurch CommunicationsPeter Curtain / Katherine Murphy Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700katherine.murphy@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com Notes to Editors Founded in 1985 in Singapore and Malaysia, AEC is the UK holding company for anumber of companies that provide business educational services to approximately16,000 students in the Asia-Pacific region: the fastest-growing source marketfor international students. The group offers class-based instruction at one ofthe largest educational campuses in Singapore's Central Business District, anddistance learning up to postgraduate level. In addition, it provides degreequalifications on behalf of several leading international universities,targeting the large volumes of overseas students which the Singaporeangovernment aims to increase as stated in the Global Schoolhouse Vision. AEC's aim is to be a leader in quality education through facilitating learning,fostering creativity and developing knowledge, skills and confidence in itsstudents. Its recognition by the Singaporean Government as a prestigious andforward-moving company is shown by its receipt of four rare Singapore QualityClass Awards. www.aec.edu.sg This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange