Steven W. Alesio Joins Providence as a Senior Advisor

Former Dun & Bradstreet Chairman and CEO Brings Exceptional Operational and Financial Expertise

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--()--Providence Equity Partners, the leading global private equity investment firm specializing in media, entertainment, communications and information companies, announced today that Steven W. Alesio has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor. He will work with Providence on new investment opportunities and certain of the firm’s existing investments, including CDW, Study Group and Ascend Learning, where he currently serves on the Board of Directors.

Mr. Alesio most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). He retired from D&B in July 2010 after nearly 10 years at the company. Prior to D&B, Mr. Alesio was with American Express for approximately nineteen years, working in a variety of senior leadership roles including President and General Manager of the Business Services Group and as a member of that Company’s Planning and Policy Committee.

“We are excited that Steve is joining our team and welcome him to the firm,” said Senior Managing Director Glenn Creamer. “He brings extensive financial and operational leadership experience and a strong network of relationships through his leadership roles at Dun & Bradstreet and American Express and his service on the Boards of numerous companies. Having witnessed his abilities firsthand at CDW, I know he will provide a strategic and insightful perspective and help create additional value at our portfolio companies as well as identify and pursue new investment opportunities in our target sectors. We look forward to his contributions to the firm.”

“Providence is a world class firm with an exceptional track record of sourcing proprietary and relationship-based investment opportunities and creating value at its portfolio companies,” remarked Mr. Alesio. “I am thrilled to be working alongside Glenn and the talented team at Providence to contribute to the continued success of the firm.”

In addition to serving on the board of CDW, Mr. Alesio is a Director of Genworth Financial, a position he has held since July 2009. He has also served on the boards of Administaff Inc., Overture Services, Inc. and Dun & Bradstreet. He is the founding sponsor and Co-Chair of the All Stars Project of New Jersey, a non-profit organization which provides outside-of-school leadership development and performance-based education programming to thousands of inner-city youth in Newark and its surrounding communities. Mr. Alesio graduated with a B.A. from St. Francis College and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Providence Equity Partners

Providence Equity Partners is the leading global private equity firm specializing in equity investments in media, entertainment, communications and information services companies around the world. The principals of Providence manage funds with over $22 billion in equity commitments and have invested in more than 100 companies operating in over 20 countries since the firm’s inception in 1989. Significant existing and prior investments include Altegrity, Archipelago Learning, Bresnan Broadband Holdings, Casema, Com Hem, Digiturk, Education Management Corporation, eircom, Hulu, ikaSystems Corporation, Idea Cellular, Kabel Deutschland, NexTag, PanAmSat, ProSiebenSat.1, Recoletos, TDC, Univision, VoiceStream Wireless, Warner Music Group, and Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network. Providence is headquartered in Providence, RI (USA) and has offices in New York, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New Delhi. Visit www.provequity.com for more information.

Contacts

Sard Verbinnen & Co
Andrew Cole/Lucy Neugart
212-687-8080/415-618-8750

Contacts

Sard Verbinnen & Co
Andrew Cole/Lucy Neugart
212-687-8080/415-618-8750