SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — June 22, 2009 — With over 30 years of sales and marketing management experience in both the private and public sectors, Tom is widely recognized as a leader in the Education technology industry. Tom has served as a Trustee on the Board of Directors for the National School Boards Foundation, as well as keynoted at several Education conferences, including the E School News Symposiums. His professional background reflects his passion for helping students, teachers, and schools through enabling technology-based solutions that improve the quality of the learning process. Tom has helped build several highly successful sales and marketing organizations at companies such as Digital Equipment, Apple, Dell Computer, Gateway, PowerSchool (now Pearson School Systems), Fourier Systems Inc., and Ascend Education. Tom helped lead Dell and Gateway in their initial entry into the Education markets. Tom was the first U.S. CEO for Fourier Systems, a K12 science curriculum and student computing appliance solutions provider, when he served as their CEO of US Operations. Most recently, Tom helped found and was CEO of Ascend Education, an innovative provider of web based math intervention software solutions for the K12 marketplace.

“We are extremely excited to have Tom Fitzgerald joining ABC-CLIO in this pivotal position,” said Becky Snyder. “Tom has the experience, the talent, and the vision to head up our Sales and Marketing operation, and to infuse all of our initiatives with the 21st Century research philosophy that is so critical to ABC-CLIO's continued success as a destination for learning.”

Reporting directly to Tom Fitzgerald will be Tim Lum, Marketing Director, Ed Lott, Sales Director, Susie Stroud, Director of National Accounts, and Brien MacDonald, Senior Special Sales Manager.



About ABC-CLIO
Founded in 1955, ABC-CLIO is an award-winning publisher of reference titles, academic and general interest books, electronic resources, and books for librarians and other professionals. Today, ABC-CLIO publishes under four well-respected imprints. ABC-CLIO serves the history profession, history teachers, and students and scholars of history with a complete line of award-winning databases, books, and eBooks, along with social studies reference and curriculum resources for middle and high school libraries and classrooms. Greenwood Press publishes high-quality, authoritative reference books and general interest topics across the secondary and higher education curriculum. Praeger is widely regarded for scholarly and professional books in the social sciences and humanities, with emphasis in modern history, military studies, psychology, business, current events and social issues, international affairs, politics, visual and performing arts, and literature. Libraries Unlimited/Linworth publishes professional materials for librarians, media specialists, and teachers. For more information, visit the ABC-CLIO website at: www.abc-clio.com.