Bridgepoint Education, recently recognized as the fastest growing private education company in the nation by Inc. magazine, has appointed Thomas Ashbrook to the position of Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer. Ashbrook will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Andrew Clark.

"Information technology expertise is essential to our organization, and we are pleased to have Tom joining our executive team," Clark said. "His strong leadership, wealth of senior management experience and track record for creating an execution-focused operation is an asset to Bridgepoint Education."

Ashbrook joins Bridgepoint from Fremont Investment & Loan, where he served as Vice President/Divisional Information Officer for three years. At Fremont, he rebuilt the legacy information technology organization and converted architecture, practices, technology and methodologies to current standards.

Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Technology Solutions for Fidelity National Financial, where he directed a staff of more than 180 professionals.

During his career, he was also Executive Director of Information Technology for Edison Enterprises and spent three years with the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was promoted through the ranks to become Technical Lead for the Data Warehouse Project, responsible for overall technical project management in an environment requiring top secret clearances.

Ashbrook holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University.

About Bridgepoint Education
Based in San Diego, Bridgepoint Education was founded on the principle that anyone who is academically prepared deserves access to higher education without sacrificing quality, transferability of credits, accessibility, academic standards, or credentials. As an independent, private higher education company, Bridgepoint is committed to serving the millions of adults seeking an affordable alternative to high priced education. Bridgepoint Education subsidiaries provide both traditional and online education offerings, in addition to recruiting and admissions services. Bridgepoint's comprehensive education services have helped thousands of students improve their lives and careers through higher education. For the second year, Bridgepoint Education was named by Inc. magazine as the fastest growing private education company in the United States. For more information about Bridgepoint, contact Shari Rodriguez, Director of Public Relations, at 858/513-9240 x2513 or visit www.bridgepointeducation.com.