Milan, 13 July 2023 – Italy's third private group in Fine Arts education is born. The K-Now Group, an Italian hub active in the world of Fine Arts, taken over in July 2022 by Kyip Capital, the growth buy-out fund dedicated to the digital transformation of Italian SMEs, has recently created the holding company Plena Education.

A new CEO has been appointed: Alessandro Montel, a manager with consolidated experience in the academic world, including within the AFAM (Alta Formazione Artistico Musicale) sector, such as the MADE Program and NABA. Montel's appointment completes a team of professionals built centrally that provides the Group's individual universities with services in the areas of teaching, social media, administration and finance, communications & marketing, international development and corporate relations.

As of today, the Group, which has 4,200 students enrolled for a turnover of €24 million, consists of 6 entities active in the field of Fine Arts (RUFA, Rome University of Fine Arts, and MADE Program in Syracuse), Design (SPD, Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan), Fashion (Ferrari Fashion School in Milan), Music (Saint Louis School of Music in Rome) and Language Mediation (Ciels Group, with offices in Padua, Brescia and Bologna). Plena Education is able to cater to one of the widest and most diversified academic offerings on the Italian scene (three-year, two-year courses, one-year masters, short courses, summer school) and located on physical campuses in major Italian cities (Milan, Rome, Bologna, Padua and Brescia).

Alessandro Montel, CEO of Plena Education, commented, "I am happy to be able to lead this new and important reality that intends to combine the cultures of different universities, each with a strong and consolidated legacy, with an efficient and more contemporary approach, capable of attracting talent from abroad which, as we know, has a great interest in our civilization, our culture and our know-how."

Carlo Privitera, Operating Partner at Kyip Capital, said, "The creation of Plena Education and the appointment of CEO Alessandro Montel open a new chapter for our Group. After an initial phase in which, on the one hand, as KYIP we focused mainly on structuring and implementing some key processes at the level of individual schools (i.e. enrollment, student onboarding, academics, and business reporting) and on the other hand on strengthening the management team by building a central team of 8 professionals, now the Group is ready to benefit from a central structure and the various synergies derived from it and further improve the educational quality and the educational experience."