M & F Worldwide Corp. Names Senator Bob Kerrey Chairman of M & F Worldwide Education Holdings

NEW YORK, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- M & F Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: MFW) today announced that Senator Bob Kerrey will join the Company as Chairman of M & F Worldwide Education Holdings.  Senator Kerrey will be responsible for M & F Worldwide's existing education businesses and will also head up strategic initiatives and evaluation of future investments in the education sector.

M & F Worldwide is the parent company of GlobalScholar, Scantron and Spectrum K12, whose collective education offerings are marketed under the "GlobalScholar" brand.  Award-winning education products and services from GlobalScholar are currently helping educators drive student achievement across a broad spectrum of needs and are providing administrators, teachers, parents, and students with advanced tools to enhance learning.  GlobalScholar offers the most comprehensive approach to instruction management, combining GlobalScholar's innovative instructional management platform, the Pinnacle Suite, with Scantron's testing and assessment solutions, such as Performance Series and Achievement Series, and Spectrum K12's response to intervention, student achievement and special education software solutions under the EXCEED platform.

"Senator Kerrey brings world-class leadership experience to our company," said Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of M & F Worldwide Corp. "We are fortunate to have Senator Kerrey's wealth of experience as we continue to invest in innovations in education for the betterment of our students."

Senator Kerrey served as Governor of the State of Nebraska from 1982 to 1987, and as Senator of the State of Nebraska from 1988 to 2000.  Senator Kerrey left public service to serve as President of New School University in New York City from 2001 to 2011.  

Senator Kerrey has a long history of leadership in education especially in the application of technology to help students, parents, teachers and administrators.   He helped Nebraska become one of the first states to have every school connected to the Internet.  He developed close relationships with superintendents, principals, parents, teachers, and other elected leaders.  Under his leadership, Nebraska participated in the creation of the Western Governors University.   He was a founder of one of the first virtual K-12 schools in the country, a co-chair of the Congressional Web Based Education Commission and an author of the Federal law which guaranteed that our schools could afford to gain access to the Internet.

Senator Kerrey commented, "American schools are under tremendous pressure from parents, citizens, political leaders and our government to improve quality and to become more accountable.  GlobalScholar offers educators a tool to simultaneously manage the increased regulatory burdens and to move towards individualized student learning with systems that allow the student, teacher, parent and administrator to work together in a measurable and transparent way."  

In his new role at M & F Worldwide, Senator Kerrey will work with Chuck Dawson, President and CEO of Harland Clarke Holdings, which is the parent company of GlobalScholar and a wholly owned subsidiary of M & F Worldwide, and Kal Raman, CEO of GlobalScholar.

"Senator Kerrey has a longstanding commitment to and experience in instituting innovation and change for our nation's education system," said Mr. Raman.  "This and his passion for quality education for all make him an invaluable addition to M & F Worldwide."

Senator Kerrey added, "Throughout my service in the public sector and my leadership of the New School, improvement in education has been an important mission for me. I am excited to be part of GlobalScholar, one of the most innovative initiatives in the education sector, and to help M & F Worldwide be a leader in improving the quality of American education."

About GlobalScholar

GlobalScholar (www.globalscholar.com) is comprised of the education solution offerings of Scantron, GlobalScholar and Spectrum K12. Solutions from GlobalScholar empower educators, parents and students throughout the entire learning lifecycle, helping schools achieve educational excellence. The brand's offerings provide educators with data and insights needed to advance teacher effectiveness and student performance. GlobalScholar also supports parents and students directly with online services that include tutoring and homework help for students, as well as school matching services/online school finders to help parents find the right school for their child. The brand serves 80 of the largest 100 school districts in the United States, as well as 70 countries and 15 Ministries of Education throughout the world. It partners with some of the most progressive and innovative school systems in America, including recipients of funding from the Race to the Top initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scantron Corporation is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Harland Clarke Holdings Corp., which also owns Harland Clarke Corp. and Harland Financial Solutions, Inc.  Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of M & F Worldwide Corp.

About M & F Worldwide

M & F Worldwide has four business segments, which are operated by Harland Clarke, Harland Financial Solutions, Scantron and Mafco Worldwide. Harland Clarke is a provider of checks and related products, direct marketing services and customized business and home office products. Harland Financial Solutions provides technology products and related services to financial institutions. Scantron is a leading provider of data management solutions and related services to educational, healthcare, commercial and governmental entities worldwide including testing and assessment solutions, patient information collection and tracking, and survey services. Mafco Worldwide produces licorice products for sale to the tobacco, food, pharmaceutical and confectionery industries.

SOURCE M & F Worldwide Corp.