Leeds Equity Promotes Pair

Leeds Equity Partners has promoted Atif Gilani from principal to managing director, and Josh Kaufman from associate to senior associate. 

PRESS RELEASE

Leeds Equity Partners, LLC, the New York-based private equity firm focused on the education, training and information industries, announced today it has promoted two of its professionals.

Effective as of year-end 2008, Atif Gilani has been promoted from Principal to Managing Director.  Additionally, Josh Kaufman was promoted from Associate to Senior Associate.

Jeffrey T. Leeds, co-founder and President of Leeds Equity said, “We are delighted to announce these promotions.  Atif and Josh have each done an outstanding job for the Firm and we are happy today to recognize those contributions.”

Atif Gilani joined Leeds Equity in 2000 as an investment professional.  He has been involved in numerous investments since then and serves on the Board of Directors of Campus Management, Ex Libris Group and EduK Group.  He has formerly served on the Board of Directors of Miller Heiman, Inc.  Prior to joining Leeds Equity, Mr. Gilani spent two years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.  Mr. Gilani graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher program in Management & Technology with Bachelors degrees in each of Economics and Applied Science.

Josh Kaufman has been with Leeds Equity for two years and has been involved in Miller Heiman Inc., eInstruction Corporation and Ex Libris Group.   Previously, Mr. Kaufman spent three years as an Analyst in the Business & Technology Services Investment Banking Group at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Chicago.  Mr. Kaufman graduated with honors from the University of Colorado with a B.S. degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance.

About Leeds Equity

Leeds Equity Partners, LLC is a New York-based private equity firm which manages the largest private equity fund in the United States focused on investments in the education, training and information industries (“Knowledge Industries”).

The Firm was founded in 1993 by Jeffrey T. Leeds and Robert A. Bernstein.  The Board of Advisors of Leeds Equity includes, among others, Dr. Rod Paige, former Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush; Richard Riley, former Secretary of Education under President Clinton and two-term Governor of South Carolina; Tim Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics; Barry Munitz, former Chancellor of the California State University school system and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust; and Tim Fitzpatrick, the former CEO of Sallie Mae Corporation.  For more information, please visit www.leedsequity.com.