Sallie Mae to Grow ARM Unit Overseas as Promotions are Announced

Student loan and ARM behemoth Sallie Mae recently announced more than two dozen top executive and officer promotions, including four in the company’s accounts receivable management unit. The head of the European debt purchasing arm also detailed plans for more international expansion.

Jack Lavin, CEO of Sallie’s Asset Performance Group – the company’s ARM unit, was named a Sallie executive vice president last week. Lavin joined Sallie Mae in 2004 when the student loan provider acquired debt purchaser Arrow Financial Services (“Sallie Mae Buys Majority Stake in Arrow Financial Services,” Sept. 17, 2004). Lavin had been Arrow’s president and CEO since 1995.

The Asset Performance Group includes Arrow, General Revenue Corp., and Pioneer Credit Recovery. Those three companies alone employee some 3,600 people worldwide.

On Wednesday, Zachary Lewy was named a Sallie vice president to go along with his title of CEO of Arrow Global, the ARM unit’s European debt purchasing and collection operation.

Arrow Global, a division of Arrow Financial, opened its office in London in late 2005 and began purchasing debt in Europe in mid-2006, Lewy told insideARM. Since then, Arrow Global has purchased more than $1.85 billion in face value consumer receivables in England, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia.

“We are filling out our European footprint opportunistically,” Lewy said. “The plan is to build Arrow Global for the long-term.”

Lewy said that the debt profile of the Global unit closely mirrors the profile of the debt Arrow purchases domestically, namely consumer credit cards and personal loans. All debt is collected in Europe using specialist agencies in the countries where the debt is purchased.

Also included in the announcement Wednesday were the promotions of Joe Freda and Rob Nadler. Freda was named as vice president and controller of the Asset Performance Group and Nadler was promoted to vice president of business development in the ARM unit.