The appointments are intended to build upon the company's reorganisation in August 1994 which led to an expanded Educational Business Unit. The restructuring, which marks Acorn's continued growth, followed the successful announcement of Acorn's Risc PC range in April 1994 and Online Media, a new division of the Acorn Computer Group launched in July 1994.
Jason Laroche will develop the family and home sector to promote Acorn as the choice for concerned parents keen to give their children an educational advantage. AcornIs excellence in music, graphics and multimedia computing will continue as a strong message. Laroche, who has over eight years' industry experience, joins Acorn from communication consultants MMC Marketing & Communications Ltd, where he was Account Director for a number of hi-tech accounts. Prior to this, Laroche held positions as Marketing Manager for MicroWarehouse and International Marketing Communications Manager for EMC Corporation.
Dick Wallin will be concentrating on providing the secondary school sector with tools which meet the IT requirements for the 'whole school', with particular emphasis on networking. Before joining Acorn in 1989, Wallin was a secondary school teacher. Since then he has developed considerable knowledge of large LEAs and educational establishments through his experience in the Acorn sales environment, where he rose to Programme Manager. Wallin's experience to date equips him with excellent educational and specialist technical skills which he will fully exploit as he develops and implements Acorn's plans for the secondary sector.
Alan Bennett will be liaising closely with primary schools to ensure that Acorn retains its dominant leadership in that sector through continuing to supply pupils and teachers with tools which directly address their needs. Central to that role will be the promotion of good IT practice, the benefits of portable computing and the adoption of fast RISC-based multimedia performance. Bennett, with three years' experience as an IT coordinator at a large primary school in Bath, joins Acorn from Horizon IT Services, a computer training company offering leisure breaks and both business and home user courses.
Mike O'Riordan, Sales and Marketing Director at Acorn Computers, comments:
"These appointments come at a very exciting time for Acorn. They are part of our drive to bring Acorn's advanced multimedia capabilities to new markets, while at the same time growing our share of markets where we are dominant, such as education. The considerable expertise that Jason, Dick and Alan bring to our efforts will ensure we continue to grow our share of these key and influential sectors."Founded in 1978, with 1993 revenues of £54.3m, Acorn Computers is the premier supplier of IT solutions to UK education and was the first supplier of 32-bit RISC based personal computers in 1987. Acorn works closely with a strong community of industry partners, users and software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the education, consumer, publishing and international markets.
Acorn Computer Group plc is the holding company for Acorn Computers Limited, Acorn Australia, Acorn New Zealand, Acorn GmbH and Online Media. Acorn Computer Group owns 43% of Advanced RISC Machines Ltd. Online Media, a division of the Acorn Computer Group, was launched in 1994 with the mission to design world class, interactive multimedia products.