Since 1979, Mr. Lesnik has served as the chairman and CEO of KemperSports Inc., an Illinois-based company that provides development and management services for premier golf facilities as well as athletic clubs and lodging venues nationwide, and KemperLesnik, a sports marketing and communications company. From 1968 to 1979, Mr. Lesnik held numerous management and officership positions at Kemper Insurance Companies.

Prior to Kemper, Mr. Lesnik spent three years at the Insurance Information Institute. He began his career at The Stamford Advocate, a daily newspaper headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Mr. Lesnik received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University.

Mr. Graham has experience in all aspects of financial management including controllership, financial planning, mergers and acquisitions and business strategy. His responsibilities at CEC include accounting, tax, treasury, financial planning, real estate, information technology, mergers and acquisitions, and control functions. He has also held financial roles at Coopers and Lybrand, The Quaker Oats Company, and Sunbeam Corporation.

Mr. Graham holds a B.S.C. in accounting from DePaul University, a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and is a certified public accountant.

Mr. Ayers has significant compliance and transactional experience, having practiced law for more than 20 years in law firms and corporations. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for NovaStar Financial in Kansas City, where he managed a staff of 35 and was responsible for all legal, regulatory, compliance and corporate governance issues.

Prior to joining NovaStar, Mr. Ayers was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at GE Insurance Solutions, where he was responsible for various legal functions at the $10 billion-plus unit of General Electric, including insurance regulatory issues worldwide, public securities filings and related Sarbanes Oxley compliance, financings and transactions.

Mr. Ayers received his B.S. degree from Graceland University, summa cum laude, with majors in computer science and mathematics and earned his J.D. with high distinction and M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. DeYoung served as Corporate Vice President & General Manager of Latin America for the Mobile Devices Sector at Motorola, Inc. In this role, he held overall responsibility for Motorola's cell phone business across the Latin American region. He also held senior positions with Allstate Insurance Company, Ameritech, and Procter & Gamble.

Mr. DeYoung earned a B.A. from Hope College and a M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Wheaton began his higher education career in 1994 and has since served in various campus and corporate leadership positions. He served as Director of Acquisitions and Development for CEC, as well as Senior Vice President of Operations for the University strategic business unit. During this period, he played a key role in acquiring many of CEC’s highly regarded institutions, including CTU.

Mr. Wheaton received a B.S. degree in finance and political science from Clarkson University and his M.B.A. from Moravian College.

In the 13 years before joining AIU, he served as president of two colleges, first Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., and then Paul Smith's College in Paul Smiths, N.Y. He holds a doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Virginia and a Master’s of Science in Educational Psychology from the University of Tennessee. He has taught courses in Educational Psychology and Educational Leadership and has published education articles in various journals.

Before joining Career Education, Mr. Friesen held a series of senior level finance roles at Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Sears Holdings Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed Fortune 50 company and one of the nation’s largest retailers.  Among his roles at Sears, he served as Vice President of Merchandise Finance—Hardlines, a business with approximately $20 billion in annual revenue, and Vice President, Finance—Specialty Retail.  Prior to his four years with Sears, he was a Senior Manager at the consulting firm Bearing Point and before that, a Senior Manager at Arthur Andersen LLP.

Mr. Friesen holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. He is a certified public accountant.

As President, Mr. Parks led the college through a successful initial accreditation effort with The Higher Learning Commission, launched the college’s first graduate programs, and initiated a permanent location for its international studies program. Before being named President in 2006, Mr. Parks served as the college’s Controller and Vice President of Operations and Finance.

Before Harrington, Erik worked in a variety of senior financial management roles for NovaMed Eyecare, a NASDAQ-listed healthcare services company. He was a key member of the team that executed the company’s initial public offering. Erik started his career with Grant Thornton, an international public accounting firm.

Erik holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Mr. McLean has more than two decades of HR experience. Prior to joining CEC, he served as Vice President Human Resources for Duke Energy Corporation and previously was a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in its global HR management practice.

Mr. McLean is an active participant in the Human Resources Proprietary Education Network Council of Chief HR Officers. He holds a B.S. in business administration from Wingate University and a M.B.A. from the Babcock Graduate School of Business at Wake Forest University.

Mr. Kulkarni brings more than 20 years of IT experience to CEC. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Information Technology for Toys “R” Us. Kulkarni earned a B.S. degree in engineering from the University of Pune in Pune, India.