2007 News Release
Center for Creative Leadership Names New President
John R. Ryan, Chancellor of State University of New York, to assume helm at global leadership development and research institution

March 7, 2007- Greensboro, N.C. - The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL^®) announces the appointment of John R. Ryan as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Ryan is currently Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States. He has also served on CCL's Board of Governors since 2002. He will begin his new role at CCL this summer; his exact start date is still being determined.

A retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, Mr. Ryan replaces John R. Alexander, who has served as CCL's president since 1997 and last year announced his plans to retire after leading CCL to unprecedented global growth and operating revenues which reached $79 million last fiscal year.

Prior to becoming Chancellor of SUNY in 2005, Mr. Ryan served as president of the State University of New York Maritime College and as interim president of the University at Albany. From 1998 to 2002, he was Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, where his focus on academics and fund-raising won widespread praise. A former pilot, Mr. Ryan commanded squadrons in Asia, Europe and the Middle East during a 35-year career in the military.

"Our search for a new CEO yielded a number of excellent candidates," said Ingar Skaug, a Norwegian shipping company executive and chairman of CCL's Board of Governors. "Among those, John stood out for his dynamic leadership skills, his extraordinary work on behalf of educational institutions and his strong commitment to CCL."

Mr. Ryan is a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a master's of science in administration from George Washington University. He also completed the program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a graduate of the Center's Leadership at the Peak program for senior executives. A native of Mountainhome, Pa., Ryan and his wife, Diane, have three grown daughters and four grandchildren.

"Through my service on CCL's Board of Governors, I've witnessed firsthand the tremendous impact that we have on leaders and organizations throughout the world, in every type of sector," Ryan said. "This institution has a long history of groundbreaking work in leadership education and research. I look forward to the challenge and privilege of serving as its sixth president."

About the Center for Creative Leadership
The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL^®) is a top-ranked, global provider of executive education that develops better leaders through its exclusive focus on leadership education and research. Founded in 1970 as a nonprofit, educational institution, CCL helps clients worldwide cultivate creative leadership - the capacity to achieve more than imagined by thinking and acting beyond boundaries - through an array of programs, products and other services. Ranked No. 8 worldwide in the 2008 Financial Times executive education survey, CCL is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., with campuses in Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Diego, Calif.; Brussels, Belgium; and Singapore. Its work is supported by more than 500 faculty members and staff.

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