New York, NY and the EDUCAUSE 2006 Annual Conference, Dallas, TX – (October 9, 2006) – Horizon Wimba, the leading provider of collaboration tools and software applications to the online education market, announced today that Carol Vallone, former CEO of WebCT, has joined its Board of Directors. As a member of the Board, Carol will lend her substantial expertise in education technology to help guide future developments and growth across all departments at Horizon Wimba.
Carol Vallone was CEO of WebCT from 1999 until 2005 when it was acquired by Blackboard, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB). As CEO, Vallone directed WebCT’s overall strategic direction, as well as all aspects of its global business operations. She was instrumental in growing the company both domestically and internationally, and by the end of her tenure more than 1,800 institutions throughout the world were using WebCT’s course management system (CMS) to facilitate their online learning programs. On two occasions, Carol was invited to speak before the U.S. Congress Web-based Education Commission on The Internet, Distance Learning and the Future of Research University.
Horizon Wimba is experiencing significant growth as it expands its suite of collaboration tools and software applications for education to include both assessment and content authoring tools. More than 700 institutions throughout the world currently use Horizon Wimba’s products and, in addition, hundreds of institutions have already secured a license for Pronto. Pronto, the Company’s newest product, is a school-centric instant messaging and voice chat tool that allows students and instructors to spontaneously communicate and meet live online at any time to discuss their coursework.
Carol Vallone’s addition to Horizon Wimba’s Board of Directors will enable the Company to benefit from her strategic experience and further accelerate its growth.
Tommaso Trionfi, CEO of Horizon Wimba stated, “I am extremely pleased on a professional, as well as on a personal level, to have Carol join our Board. Her global reputation in the education community, her expertise in education technology, and her fine strategic thinking, are all extremely impressive attributes that will benefit Horizon Wimba.” Mr. Trionfi added, “What is also very important to us is Carol’s philosophy of placing the customer first which matches perfectly with Horizon Wimba’s own principles. Carol’s experience and thoughtful approach to education can only help Horizon Wimba serve better the instructional needs of faculty and students at educational institutions throughout the world.”