Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM) today announced the appointment of Jeffrey Dale as the company’s first Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Dale will work with senior executives and other company stakeholders to build out the enterprise risk management function and framework for the company and its Sallie Mae Bank subsidiary.

Earlier this year, Sallie Mae, formally SLM Corporation, completed its strategic separation and is now a standalone consumer banking business focused on helping families save, plan and pay responsibly for college.

“I am pleased to add Jeff to the leadership team as we begin an exciting new chapter at Sallie Mae,” said Raymond Quinlan, chairman and chief executive officer. “Jeff’s wealth of experience across consumer risk, including student lending, will be an asset as we continue to foster and grow our business and strengthen our risk oversight infrastructure.”

Mr. Dale arrives from Citigroup where he most recently served as the North American Group Risk Director responsible for consumer credit in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. In this role, he engaged broadly with various business units, other control areas, and a variety of internal and external constituents, including regulators and auditors. Prior to Citigroup, Mr. Dale served as Divisional Risk Officer for UK Retail Bank at Lloyds TSB and Senior Vice President, Risk Management, Long Term Care Insurance for Genworth Financial. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Credit Officer for General Electric’s Global Consumer Finance operations in Japan.

Mr. Dale earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University.

Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM) is the nation’s No. 1 financial services company specializing in education. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae turns education dreams into reality for American families. With products and services that include Upromise rewards, scholarship search and planning tools, private education loans, insurance, and online banking, Sallie Mae offers solutions that help families save, plan, and pay for college. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.