You’ll have to forgive me for the delay in reporting this; I’ve been on vacation.
On 3/31, InvestmentNews.com reported that Upromise‘s president and co-founder James Fadule had left the company, as had their senior VP of marketing and client management, Bernard McNamara.
It’s not clear why these guys left, but the article says some have speculated it could be because of Fadule’s strong personality, or because Upromised missed out on some big contracts to run state-wide 529 plans for the states of California, Michigan, and Illinois. Analysts expect some shakiness during the transition to the new management (which includes former general counsel Mark Chapleau taking the helm in place of Fadule).
The article quotes Peter Mazareas, CEO of Strategic Advancement Group, Inc. and vice-chair of the College Savings Foundation: “This is a very significant event for Upromise…Jim was the visionary behind developing Upromise’s business plan and cultivating and winning state contracts. His absence leaves a knowledge vacuum at the company.”
Chapleau says there will be no strategy changes within Upromise and that they will continue to try to grow market share, and that they remain committed to the college savings/529 business.
