Vitru announces the beginning of the transition period of the co-CEO structure
12 May 2023 - 8:45AM
Vitru Limited (Nasdaq: VTRU) (“Vitru”) announced today the
beginning of the transition away from its co-CEO structure
involving William Matos and Pedro Graça.
In August 2021, Vitru announced the business
combination with Cesumar – Centro de Ensino Superior de Maringá
Ltda, or “UniCesumar”, and the beginning of an integration period
in which William Matos would hold the position of co-CEO of Vitru,
alongside Pedro Graça, upon completion of the business combination,
which took place in May 2022.
The integration period brought together two
executives with significant track-records in the Brazilian
education sector and was key to benefit from the potential and best
practices of both brands. Pedro Graça, with years of experience in
the technology and distance learning sectors, joined Vitru in 2016
when Uniasselvi had approximately 80,000 students enrolled in the
distance learning segment. William Matos is the mastermind behind
UniCesumar’s approach to distance learning, which at the time of
the business combination with Vitru, had over 300,000 students and
had achieved high indicators of academic quality.
The integration process turned Vitru – the
parent company of Uniasselvi and UniCesumar – into a leading
company in the distance learning higher education sector in Brazil,
with 2,248 hubs across the country that serve around 800,000
digital education students (as of March 31, 2023), a consolidated
Net Revenue of approximately R$1.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA of
approximately R$570 million in the 12 months ended March 31, 2023,
and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 36% for the same period.
The planned co-CEO structure accelerated the
integration of the brands and now allows us to move into a new
phase: Pedro Graça will leave his executive role in the Vitru group
within the next six months and will have a seat on the Board of
Directors. William Matos will take over as the sole CEO of the
Company.
According to Carlos Eduardo Martins, Chairman of
the Company's Board of Directors: “Vitru's mission is to
democratize access to education in Brazil through a digital
ecosystem and enable each student to create their own success
story. We would like to thank Pedro Graça for his resolute
dedication to fulfilling this mission and successful trajectory
over the years. His future presence on the Board of Directors will
uphold the necessary alignment and the continuity of our Company’s
project into a new era. I am absolutely convinced that William
Matos will continue to lead Vitru with the same endeavor,
discipline and determination demonstrated by his pioneering vision
at UniCesumar, which I believe was fundamental for developing of
the brand and value creation since the beginning of its distance
learning business until the business combination with Vitru.”
Pedro Graça said: “I am very proud of what has
been built over the last few years together with the team, in which
we expanded Uniasselvi throughout Brazil, created Vitru, executed a
successful IPO on NASDAQ in 2020 and advanced to the business
combination process of UniCesumar, turning Vitru into the leading
company in the distance learning higher education sector in
Brazil.”
William Matos said: “I am very confident in our
ability, through Vitru, to maintain and expand the legacy of
UniCesumar as well as that of Uniasselvi, two institutions built
with an absolute focus on academic quality, delivering a
differentiated teaching experience to our hundreds of thousands of
students across the country.”
About Vitru
Vitru is the leading pure distance learning
education group in the postsecondary distance learning market in
Brazil. Through its invested companies, Vitru provides a complete
pedagogical ecosystem focused on hybrid distance
learning experience for undergraduates and continuing
education students.
Vitru’s mission is to democratize access to
education in Brazil through a digital ecosystem and empower every
student to create their own successful story.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in
nature are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,”
“continues,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project” and similar
expressions and future or conditional verbs such as “will,”
“would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “may,” or similar
expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date hereof and are based on Vitru’s current plans, estimates of
future events, expectations and trends that affect or may affect
our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flow, liquidity, prospects and the trading price of Vitru’s common
shares, and are subject to several known and unknown uncertainties
and risks, many of which are beyond Vitru’s control. As a
consequence, current plans, anticipated actions and future
financial position and results of operations may differ
significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking
statements in this press release. You are cautioned not to unduly
rely on such forward-looking statements when evaluating the
information presented. Vitru does not undertake any obligation to
update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after
we distribute this press release because of new information, future
events, or other factors.
Contact:
Maria Carolina F. Gonçalves, IR
e-mail: ir@vitru.com.br
website: https://investors.vitru.com.br/
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