# Forum Corporation

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**The Forum Corporation** is a learning and consulting company.[2]

## History

### Early years

Forum was founded in 1971. Five partners, several of whom had recently graduated from Harvard Business School, initially self-funded the startup.[3] By 1982 it was ranked 362 on the [Inc. 500](/source/Inc._(magazine)) list of the fastest growing private companies in America,[4] with 170 employees and 40 part-time instructors.[5] As clients moved, the company began conducting operations overseas in the late 1970s.[6]

### Acquisitions

On June 30, 2000,[7] Forum accepted an offer by [Pearson](/source/Pearson_PLC), a London-based media conglomerate, to purchase Forum for US$90 million ([GBP](/source/Pound_sterling) 60 million) in cash. Pearson intended to merge Forum with FT Knowledge to generate sales of US$110 million in its first year. Forum Chairman and CEO John Humphrey oversaw the integration as chairman of an international advisory board while FT Knowledge CEO [Pippa Wicks](/source/Pippa_Wicks) became the CEO of the new company.[8] Forum executive vice president Jennifer Potter-Brotman was promoted to CEO of Forum, as Pearson wished to keep senior Forum managers and preserve brand identity.[7] After Forum shareholders unanimously approved the purchase, and the [Federal Trade Commission](/source/Federal_Trade_Commission) approved the deal on July 10, the official announcement was released August 3.[9]

In July 2002, the [Institute for International Research](/source/Institute_for_International_Research) (IIR) expressed interest in purchasing Forum, and as FT Knowledge began consolidating Pearson decided to launch negotiations that November. A final deal was signed on January 13, 2003, selling Forum to IIR for US$30 million.[10] IIR was purchased itself in 2005 by the British publisher and conference company [Informa](/source/Informa).[11]

In October 2013, Providence Equity Partners acquired Forum and four sister companies from Informa, and is now part of Providence Corporate Development Holding Company's business portfolio.[12] In 2015, Forum's parent company was renamed Twenty Eighty.[citation needed]

In 2015, Forum acquired Kenexa Insight from IBM. This offering was a research base built over 30 years of studying high performance. This acquisition was the foundation of the Talent Analytics and Assessment service within the organization.[13]

## Business

Forum provides learning in three main areas: leadership, sales and sales management, and Talent Analytics and Talent Assessment .[14]

## References

1. ["Forum People: Executive Team"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160701025205/http://www.forum.com/forum-leaders). Forum. Archived from [the original](http://www.forum.com/forum-leaders/) on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-24.

1. ["Our Clients"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080211182738/http://www.forum.com/about_forum/our_clients-109.aspx). Forum. Archived from [the original](http://www.forum.com/about_forum/our_clients-109.aspx) on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-03-30.

1. McGrady, Suzanne (1996-11-22). ["Forum Corp. chairman sees time when training, work will coincide"](http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3085448325&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=26&resultsUrlKey=29_T3085448330&cisb=22_T3085448329&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=3559&docNo=32). Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-02-08.

1. ["No. 362 Forum Corp. of North America"](http://www.inc.com/inc5000/2007/company-profile.html?id=1982362). Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. Fowler, Elizabeth M. (1982-06-23). ["Careers; Training: A Growth Industry"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE0D7143BF930A15755C0A964948260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. Evans, Steve (1997-11-12). ["Pioneer of training notes changing times"](http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3085448325&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=26&resultsUrlKey=29_T3085448330&cisb=22_T3085448329&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=155907&docNo=26). The Dominion. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. ["Pearson Unit FT Knowledge To Acquire Forum Corp. For $90M"](http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3085448325&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3085448330&cisb=22_T3085448329&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=211143&docNo=9). Lifelong Learning Market Report. 2000-07-12. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. Harding, James (2000-07-07). ["COMPANIES & FINANCE: UK: Pearson expands in education market MEDIA GROUP PAYS Dollars 90M FOR THE FORUM CORPORATION TO GAIN MARKET SHARE IN NORTH AMERICA"](http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3085448325&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3085448330&cisb=22_T3085448329&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=293847&docNo=10). Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. ["FT Knowledge, Forum Corp. Finalize Deal, Join to Create Leading Corporate Training and e-Learning Co."](http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3085448325&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3085448330&cisb=22_T3085448329&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=8054&docNo=7). PR Newswire. 2000-08-03. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. ["Institute For International Research Buys Forum Corp. For Estimated $30M; Pearson Consolidates"](http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/search/homesubmitForm.do). Lifelong Learning Market Report. 2003-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-19.

1. ["T&F Informa buys conferences group IIR Holdings for 768 mln stg"](https://archive.today/20081121012535/http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/06/01/afx2068249.html). *Forbes*. AFX News Limited. 2007-06-01. Archived from [the original](https://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/06/01/afx2068249.html) on November 21, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-31.

1. ["Informa.com - Informa PLC: Disposal of its five Corporate Training businesses"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140806104444/http://informa.com/Media-centre/Press-releases--news/Latest-News/Disposal-of-its-five-Corporate-Training-businesses/). Archived from [the original](http://www.informa.com/Media-centre/Press-releases--news/Latest-News/Disposal-of-its-five-Corporate-Training-businesses/) on 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2014-08-06.

1. ["Business Challenges - Forum"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160609181502/http://www.forum.com/business-challenges). Archived from [the original](http://www.forum.com/business-challenges/) on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-06-24.

1. ["Services and Solutions: Forum Capabilities"](http://www.forum.com/). Forum. Retrieved 2016-06-23.

## Further reading

- Griep, Elizabeth; Davis, Jocelyn; Fowler, Simon. (2010). Forum's Principles of Learning: A Guidebook for Advancing Performance in Today's Workplace.
- Davis, Jocelyn R.; Frechette, Henry M. Jr.; Boswell, Edwin H. (2010). *Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution*. Boston: Harvard Business Press. ISBN 1-4221-3152-1
- Smith, Shaun; Milligan, Andy (2002). *Uncommon Practice: People Who Deliver a Great Brand Experience*. Financial Times Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-273-65936-7
- Van Adelsberg, David; Trolley, Edward A. (1999). *Running Training Like A Business: Delivering Unmistakable Value*. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. ISBN 1-57675-059-0
- Whiteley, Richard, Hessan, Diane (1997). *Customer-Centered Growth: Five Proven Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage.* Basic Books. ISBN 0-201-15493-5

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Forum Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Corporation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Corporation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.