Former CIGNA Executive & QuadraMed CEO Launches Crisis Management and Turnaround Firm

SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Veteran corporate leader and the former Chief Executive Officer of QuadraMed Corporation, Larry English, today announced the formation of Lawrence P. English & Associates (LPE&A), a national turnaround and crisis management firm.

Mr. English, who retired in October as the CEO of Reston, Virginia-based QuadraMed, said, "today's global marketplace is hyper-competitive and unforgiving ... As a result, companies find themselves in trouble for any number of reasons, from changing economic conditions, to the emergence of new competitors, to the complacency of management that can often lead to fraud, accounting irregularities, and other break downs in corporate governance."

"These circumstances call for seasoned experts whose focus is on improving performance and who have the expertise to do just that," Mr. English added. "Even when existing managers are not to blame, they often lack the experience and temperament to deal with situations that are potentially catastrophic."

LPE&A is a network of senior executives all of whom have spent their careers in the corporate arena developing products, making sales, cutting costs, and leading businesses through a myriad of crises, including: bankruptcy, refinancing, restatements, shareholder litigation, qui tam lawsuits, and investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Importantly, Mr. English noted, that because of the depth of expertise in LPE&A's senior ranks, the firm's principals will handle every engagement directly, a critical point of differentiation. "As distinct from larger crisis management and other professional services firms, at Lawrence P English & Associates the principals do the work. There is no second team. We're not there just to sign the contract, precisely the opposite -- our collective experience is what sets us apart and enables us to get the job done."

Mr. English thrives on crisis. From his days as a platoon leader in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division through a distinguished 33 year career at CIGNA Corporation where he eventually rose to be President of one of the nations largest HMO's, Mr. English has mastered the leadership qualities and analytical skills that are essential to managing through crisis. In recent years, he has applied those skills as CEO of QuadraMed Corporation.

"I cannot say enough about Larry English's leadership," QuadraMed Board Chairman Robert L. Pevenstein said. "QuadraMed would not have survived without him. He saved the company from almost certain bankruptcy in 2003, restructured the balance sheet twice, retired all of the company's long-term debt, and restored it to profitability," Mr. Pevenstein added.

Mr. English has also provided crisis leadership for Paracelsus Health Care Corporation, Amedex Corporation, and Curative Health Services.

Among the principal services offered by LPE&A will be interim management for CEO, COO, CFO, and other C-Level positions; operational improvement planning and implementation for underperforming companies; as well as acquisition due diligence and balance sheet restructuring. The firm will be based in Sarasota, FL and will have a nationwide network of associates.

For more information, please see http://www.lpenglish.com/.