E-Duction Names Charles Tharp to Advisory Board

10/16/02

BLUE BELL, PA, October 15, 2002— E-Duction, the first company in the world to offer a voluntary employee benefit that links credit card purchases to interest-free payroll deduction, announced today that it has named a highly respected human resources thought leader, Charles G. Tharp, Ph.D., to its Advisory Board.

E-Duction’s Advisory Board consults with the company on business and product development and other important issues. Selected on the basis of their professional leadership and acknowledged industry expertise, Advisory Board members offer valuable insight and advice to E-Duction’s product development specialists and business strategists. E-Duction was awarded the coveted Best Management Team award from Ben Franklin Technology Partners in 2002, and now the company is developing an impressive Advisory Board that is attracting industry leaders.

Charles G. Tharp, Ph.D. is Professor of Human Resources in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. He has over 24 years of corporate experience, including key human resources positions with General Electric, PepsiCo, Pillsbury, CIGNA and Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Tharp also served as an executive compensation consultant for the global consulting firm of Towers Perrin. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources "NAHR", serves on the Board of Directors of the NAHR, is a past Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labor Policy Association, and served on the Advisory Board of the Center for Advanced Human Resources Studies at Cornell University. Tharp is a member of the Editorial Board of Human Resource Management and the Advisory Board of Compensation and Management Review.

"Charles Tharp brings a tremendous amount of human resources expertise, as well as extraordinary vision to E-Duction’s Advisory Board," says Kirk Watkins, founder and CEO of E-Duction. "We are very pleased to announce his appointment, and feel he will play an important role in the future of our company. Our ability to attract someone of Charlie’s caliber speaks highly about our award-winning management team and the strength of our product offerings."

"Having worked with Fortune 500 companies for years, I have an in depth understanding of the benefits that these progressive companies demand," Dr. Tharp begins. "E-Duction meets this demand for innovative benefits and technology."

About E-Duction
E-Duction was launched to capitalize on a growing trend that has emerged in payment technology - payroll deduction. In July of 2002, E-Duction introduced the first payroll deduction card, Clear, that gives employees interest-free purchasing power, 365 days per year. Clear is an innovative voluntary benefit that allows employees to make purchases at over 29 million MasterCard acceptance locations worldwide and spread payments out over future paychecks. E-Duction has teamed with some of the world’s largest consumer financial services companies including MasterCard International.

For more information on E-Duction, please contact:
Garrett Allen at Gregory FCA Communications at 610-642-8253
E-mail: garrett@gregoryfca.com

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