Boardroom Media (CEO News)
At CEO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Chicago based CEO’ operating in the Higher Education space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Craig Pines
Chief Executive Officer of Amerigo Education
Craig’s leadership of Amerigo builds on more than a decade of experience driving growth and innovation in education. Prior to Amerigo, Craig was President & CEO of Deltak, a pioneering provider of online education services for leading American universities. In 2014, after leading the sale of Deltak to John Wiley & Sons, he became a Managing Director in Wiley’s Corporate Development group, identifying and executing acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Craig is passionate about building a dynamic and cohesive team culture that drives successful outcomes for Amerigo’s students. He received a B.S. in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
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About Amerigo Education: Amerigo supports international students at elite U.S. high schools with a holistic approach that emphasizes excellent academic outcomes.
Anthony Gokianluy
Founder and CEO of GoFurther Careers
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About GoFurther Careers, Titan Digital Asset Group: We are a professionally run preparatory company specializing in higher education application and job recruitment strategies for students.
Lisa Wardell
President and Chief Executive Officer of Adtalem Global Education
Lisa W. Wardell is President and Chief Executive Officer of Adtalem Global Education. Adtalem Global Education is a leading global education provider and the parent organization of Adtalem Educacional do Brasil (IBMEC, Damásio and Wyden institutions), American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, Becker Professional Education, Chamberlain University, EduPristine, Ross University School of Medicine and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Adtalem is a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. Wardell was appointed President and CEO in 2016 and has been a member of Adtalem’s board of directors since 2008. She is the only African-American female CEO in the S&P 400 Index. Prior to her current position with Adtalem, Wardell was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for The RLJ Companies, a diversified holding company with portfolio companies in the financial services, asset management, real estate, hospitality, professional sports, film production and gaming industries. As COO, Wardell was responsible for managing The RLJ Companies portfolio, including strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, business strategy, operations and finance. With significant experience in structuring and negotiating private equity deals and mergers and acquisitions, Wardell was a key member of the team that led the formation of RLJ McLarty Landers Automotive, now RML, which is the largest minority automotive dealership in the U.S. with more than $1.3 billion in annual revenues. RML has successfully acquired $100 million of additional Harley-Davidson motorcycle and multi-brand automotive dealerships since inception. Prior to joining The RLJ Companies, Wardell was a Principal at Katalyst Venture Partners, a private equity firm that invested in start-up technology companies in the media and communications industries from 2000 to 2003. From 1998 to 2000, Wardell worked as a Senior Consultant for Accenture in the organization’s communications and technology strategic services practice where she assisted with development of new business architectures for internet technologies and determined key convergence components enabled for telecommunications providers. Wardell earned her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and her law degree from Stanford Law School. She earned her master’s degree in finance and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Wardell serves on the Board of Directors for Lowe’s Home Improvement (NYSE: LOW), a Fortune 50 company, as well as THINK450, the innovation engine of the National Basketball Players Association, and Global Citizen, a nonprofit engaging individuals to take action towards ending extreme poverty. She is also a member of The Business Council, the Executive Leadership Council, CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion and the Fortune CEO Initiative. Among numerous recognitions, she was recently selected by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” (2017) and has been featured on Savoy Magazine’sTM Power 300: Most Influential Black Corporate Directors list (2017 and 2016). Wardell is often featured for her strategic insights by media outlets, including Bloomberg, Fortune, Politico, Investor’s Business Daily, Washington Post, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.
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About Adtalem Global Education: Adtalem Global Education is a provider of educational services and the parent organization of Advanced Academics
Ivy Walker
Founder & CEO of Helios Digital Learning
Ivy Walker is a start-up and growth executive whose background includes a wide range of entrepreneurial experiences in both for-profit and not-for-profit/social venture settings. She has previously held roles such as President of a venture-backed consumer health start-up that successfully launched a health gamification platform, CEO of a global social venture that brought diagnostic medical imaging to developing countries, and CEO of a business accelerator for start-up and high growth companies. Ivy holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was awarded Kellogg’s Alumni Entrepreneur Supporter of the Year Award and the Anti-Defamation League’s Rising Star Award. Her civic and professional activities include serving as Board Vice Chairman for Kaleidoscope Inc., a non-profit child welfare agency and serving on the board of Golden Apple Foundation, a nationally recognized non-profit that prepares teachers to be successful in schools of need in Illinois. She is also an active member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Chicago Club. Ivy lives in Chicago’s Printers’ Row neighborhood with her daughter Faith-Christina. She is an avid traveler and is pursuing a lifelong goal of visiting 100 countries and all seven continents. She is also an aspiring Cessna Pilot.
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About Helios Digital Learning: Helios Digital combines immersive storytelling, EQ, behavioral economics and analytics to help employees make better ethical decisions.
Davis Jones
Co-Founder & CEO of Eazl
Davis Jones is the Chief Learning Officer for Eazl, a business school whose courseware is used by organizations like Tesla, Harvard, the World Bank, and Lyft and more than 150,000 students worldwide. Mr. Jones also participated in the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Leaders of Learning program in 2018. Mr. Jones began his career in digital education following the publication of Career Hacking in 2014. Today, it is the best-selling career management course in the history of the Internet and is integrated into undergraduate and graduate-level programs at the University of San Francisco, EDHEC Business School, Sonoma State University, and other colleges and universities in the US and abroad. Following the publication of Career Hacking, Mr. Jones negotiated commissions for Eazl to produce courseware on digital marketing, digital customer service, and multiple other business topics. Today, this courseware is used by organizations in both the private (e.g. Tesla, PayPal) and public (e.g. the World Bank) sectors. Mr. Jones earned undergraduate (economics) and graduate (MBA) degrees from traditional universities. He is also a committed lifelong learner. In addition to his participation in the Harvard Graduate School of Education Leaders of Learning program, Mr. Jones has earned credentials from New York Museum of Modern Art (Teaching with Themes), Udemy (Trademark Law), and independent learning organizations (Yes I’m a Designer / Adobe Illustrator).
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About CTXMarket.com, Eazl, Wefunder: Eazl was born out of frustration with the current university system. We make Higher Education accessible and affordable for everyone.
Kyle Swinsky
CEO/Co-Founder of AMOpportunities
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About AMOpportunities: AMOpportunities connects international medical students and graduates with U.S. physicians and institutions for clinical experiences.
Mitch Kirby
Co-Founder, CEO/CTO of TransparentCareer
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About TransparentCareer: TransparentCareer is building the next-generation career management platform for job seekers and employers.
Dan Futrell
Chief Executive Officer of Pat Tillman Foundation
CEO & Tillman Scholar, Pat Tillman Foundation.
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About Pat Tillman Foundation, Pat Tillman Foundation: Uniting and empowering remarkable service members, veterans and military spouses as the next generation of leaders.
Aimée Eubanks Davis
Founder & CEO of Braven
Aimée Eubanks Davis currently works as the Founder and CEO for Braven.
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About Braven: Braven empowers promising young people on their way to college graduation and strong first jobs.
