The smartest and friendliest
people in New York City.

I work with some of the smartest people in EdTech, and I’m fortunate to call a lot of them my friends. When I was a kid growing up in Milwaukee I wanted to be an explorer; then I became an expat, a salesman, a data-junkie, and a venture capitalist. Today, it’s all about creating an incredible technology product that will change the way the world learns languages. I love staggering challenges and working with brilliant people to find creative solutions. My favorite word in another language is polola. ¿Cachai?

I am an applied linguist specializing in instructed second language acquisition. When I was five, I wanted to be a teacher; then I became a student, and I have spent the past thirty years in school. Today, It’s all about making language learning efficient, effective, and fun, using technology and the latest research on how adults learn languages. I love traveling and spending time with my friends and family. My favorite word in another language is cacahuete–peanut in Spanish–because it’s so fun to say.

I have an intense interest in the details of politics, sports, jazz, and history. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a journalist so I could investigate everything all the time; then I became a believer in effort, a world traveler, and an entrepreneur dedicated to broadening educational opportunity for children. Today, it’s all about creating a world where learning is accessible to everyone through technology. I love leading teams to find solutions, grooving to visionary musicians, and seeing the world anew through my son’s eyes. My favorite word in another language is oeuvre.

I am Aron. When I was a child, I wanted to be a Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox; then I became an investment banker. Today, it’s all about building the world’s largest and most effective language learning company, with an audience much larger than Fenway Park. I love traveling and meeting people from new cultures. My favorite word in another language is otorrinolaringólogo.

I am Gregg and I hope to see the future. When I was a kid, I wanted to moonwalk like Michael Jackson, then he got weird. Today, it’s about having bigger dreams and working with good people to impact the future. I love learning and inspiration–while a good soundtrack plays in the background. My favorite word in another language is sisu (Finnish).

I love Hawaii. When I was young I wanted to be a vet, then I became a mathematician. Today, It’s all about the Hamiltons, baby. I love ice cream and more ice cream. My favorite word in another language is Kummerspeck.

I am André. My bachelor’s degree in Business Administration helped me figure out that I wanted to impact the world through Education, which is one of my passions. I love reading, sports, music, arts and traveling. I speak English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently. I have a very good level of Italian and I am learning German. Language learning is key to break barriers between difference culture and societies. I am thrilled to participate in the most innovative project for teaching English that is already impacting the life of millions of people generating more opportunities that contribute to create a more Educated, sustainable and equal society. My favorite world in another language is “wunderbar”.

I can’t resist learning new things. When I was a hyperactive tween, I wanted to be an architect; then I became a social entrepreneur. Today, it’s all about unleashing human potential through education and technology. I love music and biking through NYC. My favorite word in another language is Sibongile (meaning “we thank you” in Zulu).

I am passionate about education. When I was twelve I wanted to be a journalist, then I became a business professional. Today, It’s all about working with the best people around and changing lives helping english become a reality. I love food and photography, especially the analog type. My favorite word in another language is “tenedor”, which means fork in spanish. I really like its sound.

I am Alexian, Je suis un frenchie. When I was 17, I wanted to be a photographer and my father told me it wasn’t a real job so I became a marketer. Today, It’s all about digital marketing trends, user flows analysis and lead gen tools which I devour for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love photography and food, don’t know which one I prefer. My favorite word in another language is Lagom which means “Not too much, and not too little, but juuuuust right” in Swedish.

I thank you for reading this! When I was a teenager I wanted to be a comic book artist, then I became an English teacher and then a software developer. Today, It’s all about combining all of my experience to build products that help people learn. I love dumb jokes and learning new skills. My favorite word in another language is “suirikuryouyousha” 水陸両用車), which is Japanese for “aquatic vehicle”.

I’m Veronica. When I was 5 I wanted to be a gymnast. Then I had a growth spurt and decided that working as a journalist had less of a height restriction. Today, it’s all about telling the Voxy story and helping people have the most empowering experience learning English. I love food and farmers. My favorite word in another language is Amaharo (peace, in Kinyarwanda).

When I was 10, I wanted to be an astronaut (because who didn’t?!) then I became an iOS Developer, which I tell myself is just as cool. Today, it’s all about making awesome stuff that fits in your pocket. I love running and skiing. My favorite word in another language is papillion.

I think this world would be so much better if everyone had access to high quality education. I’m a proud Mexican/Jew on a mission to better educate the world. When I was a dreamer, I dreamed of building the best public schooling system for Mexico, then I became a capitalistic MBA student and now I’m back in dreaming mode. Today, It’s all about learning, working, learning, improving, learning, helping others and learning again. I love to sit down in the center left, fifth row of a nice theater and listen to a piano concerto (Beethoven is my favorite). My favorite word in another language is “Si” which can not only be used as an affirmation “yes” but also, depending on the energy used, as a motivational word.

I’m Caroline. When I was growing up, I really wanted to be a doctor or an astronaut. Then I realized I wasn’t good enough at math to be either, so I became a journalist and an editor, and later a communications and PR professional. Today, it’s all about storytelling, taking risks and committing to what you’re passionate about. I love cooking, art and exploring new cities. My favorite word in another language is sisu, a Finnish idea that means resilience, integrity and determination in the face of adversity.

My name is Gabi and I’m sort of a nomad. When I was younger, I wanted to be a generic office worker, then a tattoo artist, then a diplomat, then a journalist, but my overseas upbringing and love for languages eventually led me to teach English in multiple countries. These days, I’m putting down roots in NYC and building a life doing what I love to do: helping others achieve their language goals and expand their cultural horizons. I love terrible horror movies and mind-rotting celebrity gossip, and my favorite word in another language is tied between ‘saudade’ and ‘schadenfreude’.

I got interested in computer science only after starting an internship to pay for college. When I discovered the infinite creativity available through writing code I was hooked. When I was younger I wanted to be a biochemist, then I became interested in technology. Today, it’s all about progression through new challenges. I love the feeling of putting all you have towards an aspiration and the feeling of satisfaction after accomplishing a goal. My favorite word in another language is “Wen Jun” because it’s my Chinese given name.

I believe that every adult should read The Little Prince, at least once. When I was young, I wanted to be a pianist, a gymnast, and a chef; then I became a maker, an explorer, and most importantly an advocate of educational equality. Today, it’s all about enabling individual pursuit of happiness through effective learning. I love getting into the details and challenging heuristics. My favorite word in another language is oyasuminasai, which means good night in Japanese.

Laughter is contagious so I seek out humor wherever I can. When I was seven I wanted to be a vet, but I soon realized that I enjoyed math much more than biology so I became a business analyst instead. Today, It’s all about helping young, innovative companies succeed.  I am thrilled to be a part of the Voxy team and to help people globally achieve their language learning goals. I love saying thank you in Greek. Efharistó!

My name is Sandra, and as a kid I wanted to be a UN interpreter so I could, just like Mafalda, translate only nice things when international enemies spoke to each other at summits, thus ending all wars forever. I studied Filología inglesa, music and classical guitar, toured my country with a band, and eventually became an art exhibitions production assistant, a teacher, a translator, an editor and a publishing expert. Today it’s all about music, languages and education. My favorite word in another language is Zorionak: “Congratulations” in Basque.

I think grapefruit deserves more recognition. When I was a little girl I wanted to be an interior designer, then I became a linguist/teacher/language lover. Today, It’s all about loving what I learn and do. I love anything purple and awesome food (Cuban, Jamaican, Mexican, etc.). My favorite word in another language is “ilunga” because it is the most untranslatable word in the world.

I am a multilingual Israeli American who genuinely loves grammar. When I was in middle school, I wanted to be an architect. Then I became a huge language nerd. Today, it’s all about empowering learners to do what they love, and do it in English. I love cooking, especially for other people, and college a cappella. My favorite word in another language is “Istenem,” which is Hungarian for “Oh God!”

I’m Bernadette. Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a Marine Biologist. I was obsessed with water and the ocean. In my real life, I actually became a linguist. I find the complexity of language analogous to the vastness of our planet’s most precious resource. I am very excited about finding new ways to improve communication across cultures with Voxy. My favorite Swedish word is Fulparkerare. It describes a person who parks his or her car in a particularly egregious or unlawful manner.

I am Jonathan. When I was real small, I wanted to be a paleontologist or an ichthyologist. Then, I became a musician, a student, a math tutor, and now a data engineer. Today, it’s all about tightening the feedback loop between us and our students by enabling data-driven insights into what makes our product most effective. I love escaping to the countryside or the beach, music, and my family and friends. My favorite word in another language is “charlie”. Technically, it’s from a dialect of English spoken in Ghana, but I’ve yet to hear a cooler way to address a friend (“hey charlie!”).

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. When I was a child I wanted to be a fighter pilot, then I became a railroad conductor. Today it’s all about wrangling servers. I love coffee and craft beer, and my favorite word in another language is Kaffestout.

My name is Thiago Ghisi and I’m a passionate Brazilian Software Test Engineer who has been working with software development since 2003 and who, everyday, has more certainty that this is what I want for the rest of my life. When I was 11 I wanted to be like my Uncle Celso, a sucessful computer programmer, then I became better than him. I’m just kidding, he is still my inspiration in a lot of things. Today, It’s all about professionalism in software development and language learning. I love traveling to different countries and trying different kinds of spicy foods and craft beers. My favorite phrase in another language is “pero que sí, pero que no” in Portunhol, but I’m still trying to figure out the meaning.

I grew up in Nepal. There, I went to college to get an undergraduate degree as a computer engineer. After that it was a Masters degree in AI and the PhD (ongoing) in Linguistics where I focussed in computational linguistics. Today, it’s all about making computers understand and generate human-like languages. I love singing and composing music. My favorite word in another language is spandan (heartbeat in Sanskrit).

I dream big dreams (or sometimes tiny intricate ones) and then work to make them happen. When I was 7 I wanted to be a comic book artist, then I became a blues harmonicist to save paper. Today, it’s all about digging into new projects. I love playing music in front of an audience, trying new foods from the farmers market and doing things that push me out of my comfort zone. My favorite word in another language is tristessa, because of the book by Jack Kerouac.

I’m Xavi and I’m from Barcelona. When I was a kid I wanted to be a trader in the stock exchange; then I became a cool graduate in business and management that works both in the start-up and angel investment world. Today, It’s all about making ideas happen. I love playing soccer and tennis and hanging out with my friends. My favorite word in another language is espectacular (same word for Catalan, Spanish and English).

Since I can remember, I’ve been passionate about technology and innovation. I studied and later worked in IT. When I decided to move to Buenos Aires, it reinvigorated my enthusiasm – to unite people, languages and cultures. Since then I have developed my social side working with language exchange events and teaching. I have learned a lot from other people, making great progress learning languages, which brings a smile to my face. I think with the current innovation in technology and education, this is a great moment to be alive to experience the shift. My motivational phrase is “Ta panta rei” which means “everything flows” in Greek.

I’m Julia. When I was young, I wanted to be a Disney singer, then I became an educator. Today, it’s all about learning languages in realistic ways. I love meeting people from all over the world and learning how to say at least one thing in every language. My favorite word in another language is burbuja (bubble in Spanish), for obvious reasons.

I swell three times my size in water. When I was a kid I wanted to make video games, then I became a video game designer. Today it’s all about crafting great user experiences. I love making pizza and watching low-budget B movies. My favorite word in another language is moshi moshi, which is Japanese for ‘hello’ when speaking on the phone.

I am Haleeq. Since i was young, I had a strong curiosity to understand the inner workings of the tools/applications I use to make myself more productive.  My first introduction to software engineer occurred around the age of 9 when I began dissecting open source VB standard programs. I always wanted to be a scientist/researcher when I was little. Since then, I have found ways to satisfy my curiosity through computer science. Most of my professional experience was acquired while working for the Chinese Flagship at Hunter College. The project began with just three people, including myself, and has grew to a team of developers, educators, and researchers. I also acquired an interest in language learning/teaching through this project. My favorite word in another language is “je ris” (I laugh) in French.

I enjoy learning, creating and meeting people. When I was younger, I wanted to be everything such as an architect, electrician, fireman, gym teacher and a zoo keeper, then I became a mobile software engineer. Today, it’s all about wearing really awesome t-shirts from Threadless. I love eating lots of sushi and escaping into the wilderness by camping or hiking. My favorite word in another language is “conocimiento” which is knowledge in Spanish.

With years multidisciplinary experience, I had the opportunity to work on various areas like Logistics, Engineering, IT , Marketing and Sales. This holistic view of companies is what sets me apart, along with my creativity and my ability as a team motivator. Only when I started to work with educational programs did I truly find what I was looking for! Now I want to impact the lives of my fellow Brazilians learning english, and change the the way the world learns a second language! My favorite word in another language is the Portuguese word “Saudade”. There is no direct translation in English or any other language, but it describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves.

I am Danilo and I’m passionate about education, culture, people and their values… to understand what really moves them to go forward. When I was a child I tried really hard to please everyone around me so I wanted to be an artist, then I became a Consultant in an Outplacement company, later a Marketing and Events Coordinator in a photography company and then a Customer Relationship Consultant in an Educational company, so I found what really could reunite everything I like the most: helping people to achieve their goals and understand the wonderful amount of differences that exist in the world. Today, It’s all about people, passion and education, changing the priorities depending on the situation.  I love to love, to feel and to express. My favorite word in another language is actually an expression: “me encanta.” We can say the same thing in Portuguese (my native language) but in Spanish it expresses how you feel when you learn something new and that’s one of the main reasons for us to keep being happy every day.

I’m Laiz. When I was younger I wanted to be a doctor, then a journalist, but at the end I decided to become an architect. However, that didn’t last long because I started doing volunteer work with children and fell in love with the impact of education on people’s lives. Today, It’s all about opening the doors to the world, helping people from different cultures get connected and achieve their goals. I love cooking, traveling and my newest addiction is to read blogs from different parts of the world so I can discover interesting things that are being done. My favorite word in another language is “attraversiamo”, which means “let’s cross over” in English (Yes, it’s from the book Eat, Pray, Love, but it has a lot of meaning in my life).

I am passionate about challenges and about helping people get better results or reach their next step. I’m driven by results. When I was younger, I wanted to be a flight attendant so that I could take people around the world, then I became curious about every country and its culture. Today, it’s all about bringing solutions to my clients so that they can have all of the opportunities that come with being able to communicate in another language. At the end of the day, my biggest challenge is the same as it’s always been! I love taking advantage of all of life’s experiences and challenging myself to be better today than I was yesterday. My favorite phrase in another language is “carpe diem!”

I am Sandra. When I was young I wanted to be a teacher, then I became a bilingual executive secretary. Today, it’s all about studying to become what I always wanted to be a Portuguese and English teacher. I love meeting people from all over the world and being able to communicate with them. My favorite word in another language is ‘dekiru’ which means can or be able to do (something) in Japanese.

I sit at the bar, never at a table. When I was a soccer player I wanted to be a storyteller, then I became a storyteller and now I want to be a soccer player. Today, it’s all about making Voxy a global brand, reading, hair loss and winning the mega-millions. I love my ex-girlfriends, tequila, foreign films, chocolate, anything that is fried and… silence. My favorite word in another language is “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

I am Joon. When I was a high school student, I wanted to be a math teacher, then I became a computer programmer. Today, It’s all about coding and learning new technologies. I love jogging and traveling. My favorite word in another language is sayonara.

I work with some of the smartest people in EdTech, and I’m fortunate to call a lot of them my friends. When I was a kid growing up in Milwaukee I wanted to be an explorer; then I became an expat, a salesman, a data-junkie, and a venture capitalist. Today, it’s all about creating an incredible technology product that will change the way the world learns languages. I love staggering challenges and working with brilliant people to find creative solutions. My favorite word in another language is polola. ¿Cachai?

Mr. Richard D. Segal, is the Managing Director and Managing Partner at Rethink Education. Rick is the Founder, President, Chairman and Chief Executive officer at Seavest Inc. Mr. Segal founded the firm in 1982. In his role with Seavest, he has served on a number of public and private Boards of Directors including education-related portfolio companies. He has over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate and venture capital markets. He is deeply committed to creating better communities through his philanthropic engagements, which are primarily focused on health, education, providing opportunities for low income children and the arts. Mr. Segal received a B.A., cum laude and with honors, in English from Wesleyan University.

Bhavneet Singh is President and Chief Executive Officer, Global English and Informal Learning at Pearson. He is responsible for the management and direction of both of these sectors globally. Singh’s portfolio encompasses all English language businesses, including WSE, the leading English institute of blended learning with 450 centres globally, Global English, as well as online products such as Discovery Island and MyEnglishLabs. In his Informal Learning remit, Singh is tasked with using non-traditional settings and methods to enhance individuals’ life skills. In addition, he is responsible for all of Pearson’s education work in India. Until recently, Singh held the position of Managing Director and EVP, responsible for all Emerging Markets at Viacom.

John Frankel has been an early-stage venture investor since 1999. He was one of the earliest investors in Quigo Technologies, which was purchased by AOL in December 2007, and in Cornerstone OnDemand. He has also served on the boards of 500px, Centzy, ClearPath Immigration, Infochimps, Interaxon, Media Gobbler, Klout, Parse.ly, Phone.com, Quigo Technologies, The Goldman Sachs Trust Company, and Voxy. He is also a mentor with the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator program. He worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. for 21 years in a variety of roles that involved technology development, reengineering, and capital markets. Frankel earned a M.A. from New College, Oxford .

For the past decade, Jeff has held a series of senior roles leveraging an analytical focus first to drive business unit level results in credit and lending. He ultimately ran marketing strategy for Capital One’s consumer and small business card divisions, managing a high 9-figure marketing budget and driving over $5 billion in revenue. Jeff has been responsible for the development of cutting edge online targeting and segmentation methodologies in online lead generation channels as well as new data-driven techniques for inbound site optimization.

Marta González-Lloret is an Associate Professor at the Spanish Division of the Department of Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas at the University of Hawaii, Manoa and cooperative faculty at the department of Second Language Studies. Her main areas of interest are technology and TBLT, technology and L2 pragmatics, Conversation Analysis for L2 technology-mediated interaction; teacher training; and materials development.

Megan Masters has a B.A. in Spanish and Secondary Education from Providence College and an M.A. in Spanish/Second Language Acquisition from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has extensive experience teaching ESL as an adjunct professor, and she is currently a Project Manager for the Center for Advanced Study of Language at the University of Maryland, where she is primarily responsible for the oversight, management, participation in and administration of projects within the SLA/testing research fields. She is a PhD candidate in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Maryland, and her research interests include: foreign language program evaluation, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), particularly in the distance learning format, the role of individual differences in Second Language Acquisition, and Task-Based Language Assessment (TBLA).

Manuel is currently GM of Game Studio at Zynga. Prior to this role Bronstein was Sr. director of Product for FarmVille. Before joining Zynga, Manuel was Director of Social Interactive Entertainment at Xbox LIVE, leading strategy, portfolio and business management for the Video & Music business, Applications, and New Interactive Entertainment Experiences for Xbox, including Netflix, LastFM, Facebook, Twitter and ESPN.

Mark is currently the President of the K12 Technology Division of Pearson following Pearson’s acquisition of Schoolnet where he was the President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Schoolnet, Mark was the Chief Operating Officer of The Princeton Review. During his 24 year career at The Princeton Review, Mark either held or oversaw key leadership positions in nearly every sector of the Company. He now lives in Bedford, NY, where he is a twice-elected member of the Board of Education for the Bedford Central School District.

Jeremy founded his first company, a marketplace for virtual currency, at 15 and his second, a social network around the college admissions process, at 21 while a student at Princeton University. Having raised funding contingent on him taking time off to run it, he left Princeton to pursue the venture and, two years later, negotiated its acquisition by Zinch. In 2008, Jeremy co-founded 2tor with John Katzman, founder of the Princeton Review, to explore the final frontier of online higher education. Jeremy serves on the board of the Young Entrepreneur Council, is an active angel investor and advisor to a select group of technology ventures on both coasts. Jeremy is an avid foodie, and may be the best possible person to ask for a restaurant recommendation.

Erick joined Facebook in May 2010 as the company’s Head of Mobile Products. Previously, he had worked at Google for nearly 4 years, where he helped launch and grow Android, Google’s open source mobile operating system as the group’s Lead Product Manager. He then joined the Android team, where he proceeded to launch Android 1.0, as well as subsequent platform releases. Most recently, he led the overall development and launch of Google’s Nexus One phone.

Joshua joined Lumosity in 2007 where he is currently a member of the management team. He has helped pioneer research into human cognitive performance, develop web and mobile products, build the leading science-based learning brand, and reach hundreds of millions of users. In addition, Joshua co-founded and sold Revolver, LLC, a health and fitness company that produced a suite of 7 iPhone apps and was acquired by MapMyFitness, Inc. Joshua started his career co-founding an eCommerce wine company, RiotWine, LLC, which is now operated by Bottlenotes, Inc. Joshua graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.

Chip is the CEO and Co-founder of 2U, a company that partners with universities to build, administer, and market online degree programs. 2U supplies universities with the tools, expertise, capital, and global recruiting needed to compete in a space currently dominated by mediocre programs. Previously Chip was CEO of Hooked on Phonics where he expanded access to the program by bringing it from infomercial sales to distribution across major US retailers

Dan Porter is the creator of Draw Something, the fastest growing mobile app in the history of mobile. After selling his social games company OMGPOP, he became the GM of Zynga New York. Previously he was the SVP of corporate development managing investments for Richard Branson and the Virgin Group. Dan started out working with bands at RCA Records, was a public school teacher and President of the Teach For America program and President of Ticket web, which he sold to IAC.

Gary Vaynerchuk has captured attention with his pioneering, multi-faceted approach to personal branding and business. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to build his family’s local retail wine business into a national industry leader, Gary rapidly leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine. Gary’s success has led to a seven-figure book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world. Gary’s dual identity as both business guru and wine guy has made him the “Social Media Sommelier.”

Richard has directed the development, launch and management of businesses in online video and music, marketing, social, traffic information and logistics, consumer services and distance learning. A current Director of Zumbox, a leader in Digital Postal Mail services, he has also been an Advisor to Shelter Capital and Starvest Partners. His work extends from media giants (NBC/U, Greater Media, Univision and Viacom/CBS) to an extensive early stage venture experience (Veoh, Ruckus, Traffic.com, Unext, Cardean Learning Group, K12, Aha Media, Culture 11, ThinkPassenger, MyTime, Infomus, WeDidIt). Richard is a graduate of Boston College, Carroll Scholl Of Management, where he earned BS in Finance. He attended on a full athletic scholarship, earning varsity letters in football.

Ale is the CEO of shout and co-founder of SheSays, a five year old award-winning global network organization focused on the engagement, education and advancement of women in digital marketing. In 2012 she was in FastCompany’s “League of extraordinary women” with 60 other amazing ladies like Hillary Clinton, Oprah and the founder of Kiva. Before starting her own company, she was SVP Group Creative Director at McCann and worked for Agency Republic. Ale is a guest teacher at Berghs and Columbia to name a few. She also writes for Wired magazine and is on the board of the Art Directors Club, Wharton School of Marketing and the Creative Review Board for The Ad Council. Ale grew up in Rio and speaks five languages, but mixes them a lot.

As the VP of Marketing for Gilt Groupe, Welington has spearheaded various initiatives including the implementation of ongoing activation, reactivation, and loyalty programs, and the optimization of Gilt’s marketing policies and customer programs including Gilt’s Noir loyalty program. Prior to joining Gilt, he was VP of Marketing at Lord & Taylor, overseeing its customer acquisition and retention programs both in-store and online, and a Director of Marketing at Toys “R”Us, where he managed all “R”Us guest programs. Welington obtained his bachelor’s degree in business from Mackenzie University in his home country Brazil, and his MBA from Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the father of six year-old twins and currently resides in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Contour Venture Partners is a New York City based early stage venture capital firm. Contour invests in companies that provide innovative technology-enhanced products and services into the financial services, digital media and Internet sectors. Contour partners with passionate entrepreneurs and management teams to build great businesses that seek to ultimately transform their industries.

Pearson is the world’s leading learning company. Our education business combines 150 years of experience in publishing with the latest learning technology and online support. Pearson’s courses and resources are available in print, online and through multi-lingual packages, helping people learn whatever, wherever and however they choose. With more than two billion people around the world learning English, Pearson is at the forefront of the industry. More than 1.5 million teachers and 35 million students in 150 countries use our English language learning resources and tools each year.

Weld North, is an investment company concentrating on education, health and wellness, consumer services and marketing businesses. In partnership with KKR, a leading global alternative asset manager, Weld North seeks to make venture capital and control investments in businesses with high potential for long-term growth in cash flow. As a partner with strong and highly motivated management teams, the firm looks to accelerate growth through a focus on enhancing the customer experience, operational excellence, marketing expertise, and strategic and disciplined management.

The Partnership Fund for New York City is the investment arm of the Partnership for New York City, the city’s premier business organization. The Partnership Fund invests in businesses with principal operations in New York City. The Partnership Fund focuses on new job creation, revitalization of distressed areas, minority-owned enterprises, and innovative ideas or products that position New York at the cutting edge of growth sector industries.

Seavest Capital Partners is a private investment firm that invests in early and growth stage companies primarily in the education, life sciences and consumer technology sectors. The firm’s portfolio has included early stage investments in companies such as Wireless Generation (acquired by News Corp. for $400M), Schoolnet (acquired by Pearson for $230M) and Tout.

ff Venture Capital partners with startups that can be the low cost, disruptive player in their respective industry. The firm’s early-stage investments include Quigo Technologies, which was purchased by AOL in December 2007 for a reported $340million, Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD on NASDAQ), which had a successful IPO in March 2011, Klout and 500px.

Rethink Education is an early-stage education technology venture capital fund investing in companies that have demonstrated success in implementing business models that leverage technology to re-imagine how traditional education is delivered. Rethink’s investments include EverFi, Engrade, Hapara, and Pathbrite