Dearborn Financial Services Launches Dearborn Financial Institute
Former Pearson Executive Eric Stafford to Oversee New Business Line
(Chicago, IL - September 2, 2003) - Dearborn Financial Services, a division of Kaplan, Inc., today announced the formation of Dearborn Financial Institute (DFI), a new business line focused on providing higher-end and customized educational and training solutions for institutional and corporate customers. DFI will offer a comprehensive portfolio of finance, technical, product knowledge and consultative selling courses for financial services professionals, business managers and executives. Offerings will be customized and include:
A suite of finance courses, developed in partnership with CFA® review leader Schweser Study Program, that address the fundamental and advanced concepts of investment instruments
"The Business Board Game," an innovative program that employs a competitive learning experience to teach financial and non-financial professionals strategic business planning, negotiation skills, how to run a business, and how to measure and manage results
Know Your Customer, a unique selling skills curriculum designed in partnership with best-selling author and training professional Mitch Anthony specifically for insurance and financial services professionals
Online Certificate in Financial Planning - An online self-study education program which fulfills the education requirement of the CFP® professional designation designation. The program includes exam preparation tools including a Live Review Course and an Online Review Course.
Wealth Management Program, a self-study online certificate program that provides students the basic foundation for financial planning. The Wealth Management program fulfills the Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning, which is the first course in the Online Certificate in Financial Planning program.
Custom solution development, an integrated approach to curriculum design and implementation that helps organizations proactively identify goals and build programs that achieve learning objectives.
"We created DFI in response to the increasing demand for customized learning and professional development solutions," said Bryan Austin, Managing Director of Dearborn Financial Services. "While we see continued demand for the regulatory-based products and services provided by our core business, creating a brand dedicated to high-end learning solutions will enable us to better serve the needs of our corporate and institutional customers."
DFI will be managed by Eric Stafford, who joins the company from Pearson Publishing, where he was Director of Sales for the company's FT Knowledge subsidiary, which provides consulting, learning services and software to financial services companies. While at FT Knowledge, Stafford managed all the subsidiary's North American sales, marketing and business development, rebuilding the World Trade Center-based company to its pre-9/11 revenue levels.
Previously, he was Director of Sales with Pearson Publishing's Interactive Media Corp. subsidiary, where he managed a team of national account directors who sold consulting services, e-learning and knowledge management solutions to Fortune 500 financial services companies.
"Eric brings a breadth of sales, management, business development and marketing skills to the team, as well as extensive experience in education and technology," said Bryan Austin, Managing Director, Dearborn Financial Services. "We welcome him to the team and look forward to his contribution to the future of our business."
Stafford is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota, where he graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
About Dearborn Financial Services
Dearborn Financial Services (www.dearborn.com), a Kaplan Professional company, is a leading provider of pre-licensing and continuing education training and certification for securities, insurance and financial services professionals. Offering an array of tools including online courses, classroom instruction, interactive CD-ROMs, and print materials, Dearborn supplies education courseware to corporations, independent schools, and colleges, and conducts classes in more than 120 locations in the U.S. and abroad. For more than 30 years, Dearborn has worked with top insurance companies, securities firms, brokerage houses, and banks, providing high-quality, professional, and personalized education to executives and staff. Kaplan Professional (www.kaplanprofessional.com) is a unit of Kaplan, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), and includes world-class brands Schweser Study Program, Financial Training Company (FTC), Dearborn Publishing, Kaplan Professional Schools, Dearborn Trade Publishing, Perfect Access Speer, Self Test Software/Kaplan IT, Kaplan CPA, and Contact Center Solutions.
1 Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT, and , which it awards to individuals who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements. Kaplan College does not certify individuals to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT and certification marks. CFP certification is granted only by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met its ethics, experience and examination requirements.
Press Contacts:
Carina Wong
212-492-5992
carina_wong@kaplan.com
Dearborn Financial Services Launches Dearborn Financial Institute
Former Pearson Executive Eric Stafford to Oversee New Business Line
(Chicago, IL - September 2, 2003) - Dearborn Financial Services, a division of Kaplan, Inc., today announced the formation of Dearborn Financial Institute (DFI), a new business line focused on providing higher-end and customized educational and training solutions for institutional and corporate customers. DFI will offer a comprehensive portfolio of finance, technical, product knowledge and consultative selling courses for financial services professionals, business managers and executives. Offerings will be customized and include:
A suite of finance courses, developed in partnership with CFA® review leader Schweser Study Program, that address the fundamental and advanced concepts of investment instruments
"The Business Board Game," an innovative program that employs a competitive learning experience to teach financial and non-financial professionals strategic business planning, negotiation skills, how to run a business, and how to measure and manage results
Know Your Customer, a unique selling skills curriculum designed in partnership with best-selling author and training professional Mitch Anthony specifically for insurance and financial services professionals
Online Certificate in Financial Planning - An online self-study education program which fulfills the education requirement of the CFP® professional designation designation. The program includes exam preparation tools including a Live Review Course and an Online Review Course.
Wealth Management Program, a self-study online certificate program that provides students the basic foundation for financial planning. The Wealth Management program fulfills the Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning, which is the first course in the Online Certificate in Financial Planning program.
Custom solution development, an integrated approach to curriculum design and implementation that helps organizations proactively identify goals and build programs that achieve learning objectives.
"We created DFI in response to the increasing demand for customized learning and professional development solutions," said Bryan Austin, Managing Director of Dearborn Financial Services. "While we see continued demand for the regulatory-based products and services provided by our core business, creating a brand dedicated to high-end learning solutions will enable us to better serve the needs of our corporate and institutional customers."
DFI will be managed by Eric Stafford, who joins the company from Pearson Publishing, where he was Director of Sales for the company's FT Knowledge subsidiary, which provides consulting, learning services and software to financial services companies. While at FT Knowledge, Stafford managed all the subsidiary's North American sales, marketing and business development, rebuilding the World Trade Center-based company to its pre-9/11 revenue levels.
Previously, he was Director of Sales with Pearson Publishing's Interactive Media Corp. subsidiary, where he managed a team of national account directors who sold consulting services, e-learning and knowledge management solutions to Fortune 500 financial services companies.
"Eric brings a breadth of sales, management, business development and marketing skills to the team, as well as extensive experience in education and technology," said Bryan Austin, Managing Director, Dearborn Financial Services. "We welcome him to the team and look forward to his contribution to the future of our business."
Stafford is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota, where he graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
About Dearborn Financial Services
Dearborn Financial Services (www.dearborn.com), a Kaplan Professional company, is a leading provider of pre-licensing and continuing education training and certification for securities, insurance and financial services professionals. Offering an array of tools including online courses, classroom instruction, interactive CD-ROMs, and print materials, Dearborn supplies education courseware to corporations, independent schools, and colleges, and conducts classes in more than 120 locations in the U.S. and abroad. For more than 30 years, Dearborn has worked with top insurance companies, securities firms, brokerage houses, and banks, providing high-quality, professional, and personalized education to executives and staff. Kaplan Professional (www.kaplanprofessional.com) is a unit of Kaplan, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), and includes world-class brands Schweser Study Program, Financial Training Company (FTC), Dearborn Publishing, Kaplan Professional Schools, Dearborn Trade Publishing, Perfect Access Speer, Self Test Software/Kaplan IT, Kaplan CPA, and Contact Center Solutions.
1 Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT, and , which it awards to individuals who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements. Kaplan College does not certify individuals to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERT and certification marks. CFP certification is granted only by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to those persons who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met its ethics, experience and examination requirements.
Press Contacts:
Carina Wong
212-492-5992
carina_wong@kaplan.com