22/4/2010

Ref: FR030

Halifax-based learning platform provider Frog (www.frogtrade.com) has announced the appointment of three new senior roles to spearhead UK and international expansion. Adrian Bantin joins as Partner Manager and Imran Ali as UK Local Authority Sales Manager - they have both come from school technology provider, Serco Learning (part of Serco Group PLC). Bob Finney from Hewlett Packard also joins Frog as Sales Director. Their combined commercial and education expertise which spans 30 years at FTSE 100 companies, will help them build on Frog’s current success in schools across 83 UK Local Authorities and take it to the next level.

Frog is the market leader in Learning Platforms for the UK and currently has 10 percent market share in the secondary schools market with its learning platform – a ‘Facebook’-style online learning environment that allows students, teachers and parents to access all school information from one online location. The technology’s versatility means that it can be used as a toolkit to create a range of other products to expand its market share.

Frog has already created over 150 partnerships with other companies in the education industry and aims to attract more in order to helps schools unite their entire technology provision on one platform. Bringing a decade of education software industry experience, which includes successfully establishing Serco Learning’s partner programme, Adrian’s role as Partner Manager will involve implementing a robust partner programme. This will enable Frog to exploit opportunities for expansion into new markets such as primary schools, as well as securing international partners to aid global expansion. Since joining Frog three months ago, Adrian has already signed on major partner, Logotron Ltd, trading as Wigit Software, which adds a level of SEN (Special Educational Needs) functionality to the learning platform.

Adrian comments: “Frog has a passion and enthusiasm amongst staff and customers that is inspirational. My new role gives me the opportunity to bring my experience to the company and the challenge to set up a partner programme that will take Frog to the next level.”

Imran has been appointed as Frog’s first UK Local Authority Sales Manager to secure local authority-wide sales and support the regional sales team. He has also joined from Serco where he worked for seven years, most recently as the Local Authority Business Development Manager, working closely with education teams within local authorities to effectively implement ICT in schools. This involved providing advice and practical help on all aspects of data management, such as curriculum planning, assessment tracking, schools’ self-evaluation management and e-portfolios for learners.

Imran comments: “This role is a natural extension to my previous role at Serco Learning. What I love about Frog is that it is a truly fantastic product that delivers what schools want. It has excellent brand recognition in the UK schools market and I hope to build upon that by networking with local authorities and education partners to secure authority-wide contracts.”

Bob’s role as Board Sales Director will involve expanding the sales team by recruiting channel managers as part of a reseller network to boost sales to primary schools. An international sales force will also be put in place to target private schools worldwide. Bob has a background in sales, having worked as Hewlett Packard’s Sales Director and Business Unit Director for eleven years. Most recently, he was Group Sales Director at XMA, part of the £1 billion Westcoast Group, a leading supplier of IT products to the computer reseller network.

Bob comments: “Frog is a very entrepreneurial-led organisation which suits me very well. After many years working in the United States and Geneva, I am glad to work for a local growing organisation that provides a very interesting product for schools. I hope to hone my commercial experience to make a step change in this business.”

Gareth Davies, Managing Director, Frog, adds: “In recent years Frog has seen rapid growth, increasing the number of schools using our learning platform from 40 in 2005 to over 350 across 83 Local Authorities in 2010. A key part of our success has been the reputation we have built with our customers that has spread across the country. The wealth of expertise that Bob, Adrian and Imran offer make them invaluable assets to Frog and will help steer the company to continued growth and success, ultimately improving the quality of education in the UK and overseas.”

Frog welcomes enquiries from companies in the education sector interested in becoming a partner or reselling its product. For further information please call 01422 250 800, email: hello@frogtrade.com or visit www.frogtrade.com.

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