Academic Partnerships Appoints Karl Engkvist as Executive Vice President of Business Development for Asia Pacific

Veteran Pearson and Blackboard Executive to Lead Company's Expansion Efforts in the Region

News provided by

Sep 11, 2014, 09:00 ET

DALLAS, Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Academic Partnerships (AP), one of the world's largest representatives of online learning, today announced that it has appointed Karl Engkvist as executive vice president of business development for Asia Pacific. In this role, Mr. Engkvist will be responsible for establishing and managing partnerships with universities across the region as AP rapidly expands into the Asian market. He will report to AP Chairman and CEO Randy Best.

Mr. Engkvist joins AP from Pearson, where he was a senior vice president of business development based in Hong Kong, responsible for the development of Pearson's strategies to capitalize on the accelerating adoption of educational technologies in the region. Mr. Engkvist drove the company's initiative to use its English as a Second Language business as a platform for greater collaboration with central, provincial, and municipal governments, and developed an innovative partnership model that strengthened the company's relationships with universities across Asia Pacific.

"I am delighted that Karl has joined the AP team," said Randy Best. "His deep understanding of the higher education space and the Asia Pacific market, coupled with his significant strategic, operational, and business development expertise, will be of tremendous value as AP deepens its engagement in that part of the world."

Mr. Engkvist added, "AP is ideally positioned to help meet the tremendous demand for post-secondary education throughout Asia Pacific. I am looking forward to leading its expansion efforts in this vibrant market and contributing to the success of AP and our partner universities."

Before joining Pearson, Mr. Engkvist was the chief operating officer of the student recruitment consultancy Campus Direct.

Prior to that, he spent more than a decade with Blackboard, where he held senior positions in both the United States and China. Through Blackboard's early stage, spin-off, IPO, and public company phases, he led various operational groups and initiatives including business development, strategic development, and integration. Mr. Engkvist also led the operations of Blackboard's largest acquisition to date, as well as its joint venture in China, where he lived from 2003 until 2006.

Mr. Engkvist also spent nearly a decade at The Princeton Review.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Dartmouth College.

About Academic Partnerships

Academic Partnerships (AP) assists universities in converting their traditional degree programs and certificates into an online format, recruits qualified students, and supports enrolled students through graduation. Serving public and private not-for-profit universities in the United States and top international institutions, AP is guided by the principle that the opportunities presented through distance learning make higher education more accessible and achievable for students in the United States and around the world. The company was founded by social entrepreneur Randy Best, an 18-year veteran of developing innovative learning solutions to improve education. For more information, please visit www.academicpartnerships.com.

Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE Academic Partnerships