GlobalEnglish Announces New Vice President of Worldwide Sales

Business Wire,  May 24, 2004  

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Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2004

Industry Veteran of 23 Years Brings Global Experience and

Strong Leadership Skills to the Company that

"Delivers on Its Promise" to Customers

GlobalEnglish Corporation, the leading online English learning and support service for business communication, is pleased to announce that Timothy G. (Tim) Ellinger has joined the organization as Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Mr. Ellinger comes to GlobalEnglish(R) after seven years with SkillSoft Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President for Worldwide Field Operations, having responsibility for the largest, global sales and support organization in the e-learning industry.

"Tim's long and varied experiences in the e-learning industry will enable him to have an immediate impact on GlobalEnglish's direction and growth," said Ron Hoge, CEO, GlobalEnglish. "Most importantly, he has strong international experience and clearly understands the challenges that our global clients face when conducting business throughout the world."

Mr. Ellinger brings more than 23 years of sales and operational experience in the training and e-learning industry to his new role. Prior to managing SkillSoft's global sales and support organization, he held various management positions with SmartForce (before its merger with SkillSoft), including Vice President of Sales for the Americas and Vice President of International Sales. Mr. Ellinger began his career in sales in 1978 with the IBM Corporation and has held various sales and sales management positions in the training industry with companies such as Deltak, SRA and Platinum Technology.

"I joined this organization because GlobalEnglish is the premier solution provider for what I believe is the most critical training requirement facing global companies today," said Mr. Ellinger. "GlobalEnglish delivers an English language learning solution that is highly effective, yet far more scalable and affordable than traditional training methods such as classroom instruction."

In a recent GlobalEnglish survey of more than 30,000 non native-speaking employees of global companies, 90 percent said that English is "required" or "important" for their jobs. Only 9 percent, however, indicated that their current level of English proficiency was sufficient enough to be effective in their roles. Additional research by GlobalEnglish has shown that companies that operate globally can lose up to US$4 Million in productivity, annually, for every 1,000 employees who lack proficiency in English. Senior management from global companies have also linked English proficiency in their organizations to the ability to quickly adapt to strategic business issues and events, such as entry into new markets, rapid integration of acquisitions, and developing a larger pool of "high potential" employees for succession planning.

"Founded in 1997, GlobalEnglish has consistently delivered on its promise of proven value for its customers. The company has generated significant and measurable productivity gains around the world for global companies. And because we are focused on return on investment, GlobalEnglish has built real partnerships with its clients who continue to demonstrate their confidence in us by rewarding GlobalEnglish with increased levels of business," commented Ellinger.

"The frequency with which companies are operating globally has increased dramatically in recent years and communication has become the most important challenge they now face," said Hoge. "Organizations that address internal language barriers on a global scale will be able to leverage their human capital better and be more competitive in growth markets such as China, Russia and Eastern Europe."

To receive a summary of the GlobalEnglish survey and research, or for more information about the benefits of English language proficiency for global companies, please send an email to info@globalenglish.com.

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