Albert L. Lord (Al) serves as a Senior Advisor to AlpRidge Capital. He joined the firm after a distinguished career as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sallie Mae, the nation’s No. 1 financial services company specializing in education. Al held this position from 1997 to 2005, then served as Chairman of the Board of Directors until 2007 when he was re-appointed Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board until his retirement in May 2013.

Al originally joined Sallie Mae in 1981 as controller and subsequently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He left the company in 1994 to found LCL, Ltd., a financial-management consulting firm. In 1995, he became an independent director of Sallie Mae and subsequently led a successful proxy contest to restore then depleted shareholder value and become the company’s Chief Executive Officer in 1997.

Under Al’s leadership Sallie Mae’s market value increased from $2 billion to $25 billion in 2005. Upon reappointment in 2007 he led the Company through the financial crisis, raised capital and increased market value threefold. Today, Sallie Mae is the leading private sector provider of higher education financing in the United States.

During Al’s tenure Sallie Mae won awards as a top place to work. While committed to the financial success and reputation of Sallie Mae, he used its education expertise to create the Sallie Mae Fund, which since 2001 has contributed $125 million to lower barriers to college access. Al created Building Hope, established in 2003 to finance charter school building and rehabilitation. Building Hope operates across the country but principally in Washington, DC where charter schools enroll more than one half the public school students.

Al began his career in 1967 with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and later was Treasurer of First Pennsylvania Corporation. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Penn State where he now serves as a trustee.

Al served for eight years as Chairman of the Cesar Chavez Charter Schools in Washington, DC. Other community activities include the Washington, DC based Children’s Charities Foundation, and the advisory board of Penn State, Abington. Al has contributed generously to Penn State and to the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. He and his wife Suzanne reside in Naples, Florida.