GP Strategies Elects New Board Members

COLUMBIA, Md., Aug. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced the election of three new directors, Tamar Elkeles, Jacques Manardo and Mimi Strouse, to serve on its Board. Dr. Elkeles, Mr. Manardo and Ms. Strouse were elected by the Company's stockholders, along with incumbents Marshall Geller, Scott Greenberg, Steven Koonin, Richard Pfenniger, Jr. and Samuel Robinson, at the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.  In addition, the Board of Directors appointed Scott Greenberg as Chairman of the Board and Samuel Robinson as Lead Independent Director.

Mr. Greenberg stated, "I am extremely excited about our new Board, electing a Lead Independent Director and becoming Chairman of the Board. As we continue to focus on GP's expansion through acquisitions and organic growth, we will benefit significantly from three outstanding individuals who will bring differentiated insight to our Board deliberations. Tamar, Jacques and Mimi bring vast and relevant experience in the learning and organization development, global business services and financial industries. I believe they will make significant contributions to the Company. These new Board appointments, combined with the changes in our leadership team during the last year, further position GP Strategies for future success."

Samuel Robinson stated, "I am excited to be elected Lead Director and am looking forward to supporting our Board, Management Team and Shareholders in the execution of the Company's growth strategy."

About the Director Nominees

Tamar Elkeles, Ph.D. is the Chief Talent Executive for Atlantic Bridge Capital, a global venture capital fund focused on technology investments. Previously she was the Chief People Officer for Quixey, a Silicon Valley mobile technology start-up and before that had a 24 year tenure as a senior human resources executive at Qualcomm, including 17 years as Qualcomm's Chief Learning Officer. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Forbes School of Business & Technology at Ashland University, CTDO Next and the Editorial Board for Chief Learning Officer (CLO), a multimedia publication for the enterprise learning market. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and The Conference Board's Executive Council on Talent and Organizational Development. Dr. Elkeles is the author of three books focused on the CLO's role: The Chief Learning Officer, Measuring the Success of Learning Through Technology and The Chief Talent Officer. She also serves as a strategic advisor to several startup companies in the education technology sector.

Jacques Manardo is a former CEO and Managing Partner of Deloitte Europe. After 33 years in the audit and consulting profession, Mr. Manardo retired in 2001 from Deloitte, where he was the founding partner of the French practice, the CEO for Europe and global managing partner for services to the firm's top 300 clients. In 2001, he became an angel investor, director and advisor, and has since conducted special consulting assignments on mergers and acquisitions and other complex transactions.  Mr. Manardo is currently a board member of a private investment fund, Yam Invest, in Amsterdam, and a trustee of the French Institute-Alliance Francaise, Chair of the Finance Committee in New York City.  He was a member of the Board of the Banking and Insurance Fortis Group from 2004 until 2009, was a senior advisor to HIG, a Miami based hedge fund from 2006 to 2012, and previously served on the boards of several other commercial and non-profit entities. 

Mimi Strouse most recently served as a Senior Advisor at Accretive, LLC, a private equity firm, from 2010 to 2016. Prior to this, she served as Managing Director at Warburg Pincus LLC from 2002 to 2008 and was responsible for leading investments in the business process outsourcing, financial technology and post-secondary education markets.  Previously, she was a Principal at General Atlantic Partners LLC from 1996 to 2002, and also worked as a financial analyst in the mergers and acquisitions division of Credit Suisse First Boston. She is currently a Director of Everspring Partners, Inc. and serves as a Trustee of Strada Education Network, a public charity focused exclusively on education.  Ms. Strouse previously served on the Boards of WNS Global Services, Bridgeport Education, Fortent, Yodlee, Skillsoft, MLM, Rebus (Suber Acquisition Ltd), Lifecare.com and SmartTime Software. 

The GP Strategies Board created the position of Lead Independent Director to complement Mr. Greenberg in his new role as Chairman, and asked Samuel Robinson to become the Lead Independent Director. The Lead Independent Director will preside at meetings in executive session of the non-management Directors; recommend the frequency of and schedule meetings of the non-management Directors in executive session; consult with the Chairman of the Board and with the chairs of committees of the Board regarding topics for reports and discussion at meetings, dates and times of meetings; provide input on agendas for all Board meetings; and be available for direct communication and consultation with significant shareholders.

Samuel Robinson, who joined the Board in 2016, is President of Sagard Holdings (Sagard Capital) (who owns approximately 22% of GP Strategies common shares) and a Vice President of Power Corporation of Canada ("Power").  He joined Sagard and Power in 2016 after an 18-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he served in a variety of positions, including Chief Administrative Officer and head of strategy for the global Investment Banking Division, Chief Operating Officer for the firm's emerging markets businesses, Asia Regional Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff to the firm's President.  Earlier, he trained as a financial institutions investment banker, worked in venture capital and was involved for many years in corporate strategy and investor relations.             

About GP Strategies

GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, digital learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers. Additional information may be found at www.gpstrategies.com.

© 2018 GP Strategies Corporation. All rights reserved. GP Strategies and the GP Strategies logo design are trademarks of GP Strategies Corporation.

SOURCE GP Strategies Corporation

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