SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Weld North Education (WNE), the leading Pre-K-12 digital curriculum company focused on unlocking the power of technology for learning, today announced several appointments designed to strengthen the senior leadership team and accelerate the ability to develop and deliver world-class capabilities, products and services. These changes reflect the rapid growth, dynamic opportunities and commitment to transform education by building the best digital curriculum company in the world, serving students, teachers, parents and administrators.
On January 8, 2020, WNE announced that we acquired LearnZillion, a leading provider of K-12 high-quality digital-first core curriculum. This acquisition is WNE’s first foray within the digital core market traditionally served through textbooks. Together with WNE’s digital intervention, supplemental and assessment solutions, LearnZillion will help deliver a cohesive, connected ecosystem that drives personalized classroom instruction powered by data. LearnZillion marks the third significant acquisition by Weld North Education, the largest pure-play digital education company, in less than a year. In March 2019, WNE acquired assessment software provider ATI, Inc and in February 2019, WNE acquired digital curriculum company Glynlyon, Inc.
Commenting on the leadership appointments, Jonathan Grayer, CEO of Weld North Education said, “These appointments and an enhanced leadership structure solidifies our business, leverages our top-tier talent and most important, fuels our commitment go to market faster with products, capabilities and solutions that transform how teachers teach and how students learn by unleashing the power of data-driven instruction.”
Mr. Grayer announced the following appointments:
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Gautam Parasnis becomes Chief Operating Officer of WNE, responsible for Instructional Design and Curriculum Development, Product Engineering, Learning Sciences and Technology Operations. This organization will significantly enhance WNE’s capability to design, develop and deliver high quality products to the market for its business units. Parasnis joined Weld North in 2014 and has served in senior operating positions with several of WNE’s digital education companies since that time. He joined WNE from IBM, where he held leadership roles including Global Leader of the Customer Relationship Management practice for the consulting business. He is a former consulting Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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Todd Ellermann joins WNE as VP of Engineering. Ellermann will be responsible for all product engineering, data science and technology operations for WNE, reporting to Parasnis. Ellermann, a ten-year veteran of technology leadership at TripAdvisor.com and previous Director of Engineering at Lynda.com, joins WNE from Clarivate Analytics, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation, where he was VP of the Engineering Science Group. Prior to Clarivate, Ellermann was Head of the Digital Home Client Applications at Xfinity/Comcast.
- David Alderslade will lead Finance and Administrative as EVP for WNE, reporting to Vice Chairman and CFO Steven J. Berger. Alderslade was most recently CFO at WNE business Edgenuity and managed shared F&A services for several other Weld North companies. Alderslade has more than 25 years of experience in financial services in Europe, Asia and the US. Before joining Edgenuity, he was Managing Director and CFO at Richmond Park Partners, a London-based independent merchant bank.
“We are excited about these additions to our leadership team as Gautam, Todd and David join the rest of the management team at WNE – Steve Berger, Vice Chairman and CFO, Sari Factor, CEO of Edgenuity, Jeremy Cowdrey, CEO of Imagine Learning and Eric Dalton, EVP and GM of WNE Consumer – in driving outcomes for teachers and students through the power of technology. We are on a clear path to becoming the most innovative PreK-12 digital curriculum company in the world.”
About Weld North Education
Weld North Education, in partnership with Silver Lake, is a leading digital education technology company focused on developing digital curriculum and tools for pre-K–12 students. The Company is built around two underlying businesses, Edgenuity and Imagine Learning. Edgenuity is a leading digital courseware provider focused on providing online curricula and intervention solutions. Imagine Learning is a leading digital supplemental solutions provider focused on addressing language, literacy and math. Read more about Weld North Education at www.weldnorthed.com.
About Edgenuity
Edgenuity is a leading provider of online curriculum and instructional services for the K-12 market. Nationwide, Edgenuity is in use by more than 20,000 schools, including 20 of the 25 largest school districts, to meet academic goals and improve student outcomes. We offer initial credit courses, honors and Advanced Placement courses, credit recovery, intervention and test readiness. These solutions, in addition to Edgenuity’s instructional services and professional development offerings, help students, educators and districts achieve success in their online and blended learning programs. For more information, visit www.Edgenuity.com.
About Imagine Learning
Imagine Learning is passionate about providing equity of access to learning for all students through teaching with technology. We are a leading educational technology company providing supplemental digital curriculum for PreK through 8th grade students. Our adaptive suite of Literacy, Math, and Assessment solutions are powered by the Imagine Learning Language Advantage™; a theory of action that promotes rigorous and equitable development of language, enabling students to have deeper comprehension, engagement, and enjoyment of learning. Over 3 million students nationwide benefit from Imagine Learning programs to accelerate their learning. Learn more at imaginelearning.com.