Sallie Mae Appoints Mark L. Heleen General Counsel

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SLM Corporation (NYSE:SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, announced today that it has appointed Mark L. Heleen senior vice president and general counsel.

Heleen joined Sallie Mae in 1998. He has held responsibility for all legal matters for the financing and derivative transactions of the company, including the company’s recent $3 billion equity offering, its $34 billion asset-backed commercial paper facility and its $2.5 billion unsecured senior notes issue. Most recently, Heleen has worked with federal officials on the company’s implementation of the U.S. Department of Education’s loan participation and purchase program.

“Mark has been involved in every one of the company’s major financial transactions in the last decade,” said Albert L. Lord, vice chairman and chief executive officer. “I look forward to Mark joining the executive team and to his leadership of our highly talented legal team.”

Prior to joining Sallie Mae in 1998, Heleen worked as an attorney for PNC Bank and Tucker Arensberg, PC in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Heleen obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Bucknell University and his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

SLM Corporation (NYSE:SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation’s leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The company manages nearly $178 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages more than $19 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and is a major, private source of college funding contributions in America with 9.4 million members and $450 million in member rewards. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.