Shake-up at Channel One’s parent company

October 16, 2017

From Jim Metrock:  Houghton Mifflin has a history of making bad decisions.  The company has gone through several financial restructurings in recent years.  The company’s last restructuring was indeed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012.  Houghton Mifflin used the bankruptcy laws to walk away from a cool $3.1 billion in debt.

Any company that acquires Channel One News, is a company that doesn’t understand American schools.  Channel One has been a pariah among educators since it was created in 1989, yet Houghton Mifflin acquired Channel One in 2014 (apparently for no cash).

Today’s announcement has nothing to do with Channel One since it is considered an immaterial asset to Houghton Mifflin. However, with any management shake-up, there is a possibility that new people with clearer heads may decide to terminate the embarrassing, irrelevant Channel One subsidiary.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Strengthens Executive Leadership Team, Appoints Slate of New Talent


NEWS PROVIDED BY

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

09:00 ET


BOSTON, Oct. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today announced changes to its executive team, with a slate of new talent and the promotion of internal leaders to support its goal of improving learning outcomes for all students.

“With a passionate and talented team in place, I look forward to what’s on the horizon for HMH as we deliver on our unique ability to provide truly integrated learning solutions,” says Jack Lynch, President and CEO, HMH. “This group brings the right balance of K-12 teaching and learning experience and customer-centered innovation to the table to deepen HMH’s longstanding position as a leading core curriculum provider and to expand and diversify our portfolio in faster growing segments within intervention, supplemental curriculum and professional services.”

Reporting directly to Lynch, the following executives will serve leading roles:

  • Jim O’Neill, EVP and General Manager, Core Curriculum
    Joining most recently from Achieve3000, O’Neill has spent his career in the K-12 education space, including roles at HMH, Pearson and National Geographic. He brings deep experience in educational technology, product development, strategy, marketing and sales support to the newly created position of EVP and GM, Core Curriculum, where he will focus on enhancing HMH’s basal core business.
  • Matthew Mugo Fields, EVP and General Manager, Supplemental Curriculum
    In this new role, Fields will manage the development and growth of HMH’s supplemental curriculum portfolio, which includes intervention and assessment offerings. He previously worked at McGraw-Hill Education, overseeing strategy, operations, marketing and product development for a suite of adaptive learning software solutions; he is also founder of education technology start-ups Redbird Advanced Learning and GiftedandTalented.com.
  • Rose Else-Mitchell, EVP and Chief Learning Officer
    Else-Mitchell, who joined HMH in 2015 with the Company’s acquisition of Scholastic’s EdTech Business as head of product, will focus on the efficacy of HMH’s programs and services to drive student outcomes. This newly created position expands Else-Mitchell’s responsibilities as leader of HMH’s Professional Services business to include oversight of Learning Science, Research, Data Analytics, User Experience and HMH’s Teaching and Learning Platforms.
  • Amy Dunkin, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer
    Dunkin has been named Chief Marketing Officer and will oversee product marketing, field marketing, market research, pricing, an in-house creative agency, communications, and digital and demand generation teams. She is tasked with ensuring HMH has a best-in-class, modern, agile marketing organization in order to increase brand awareness and prioritize customer needs. Dunkin joined HMH in 2015 during the Scholastic EdTech acquisition and previously worked at Time Inc. and Forbes.
  • Alejandro Reyes, SVP and Chief People Officer
    Reyes joins HMH from Laureate Education, where he served as the Chief Talent and Organization Development Officer, responsible for building the talent infrastructure for the company’s recent growth. He previously held significant tenures at both Dell and Motorola. At HMH, he will focus on enabling success for the employee community as a whole, including talent development and management.
  • Trish Torizzo, SVP and Chief Information Officer
    Torizzo has joined the team as Chief Information Officer, and will focus on leveraging the Company’s enterprise software solutions to streamline all internal operations and improve the customer experience. She has previously held IT leadership positions at Charles River Laboratories, National Grid and Boston Scientific and brings extensive experience in large scale IT and business transformation and integration initiatives.
  • Vicki Boyd, EVP and General Manager, Heinemann
    Boyd, who has been with the Company since 2003, has been promoted to EVP and General Manager of Heinemann, HMH’s professional development publishing arm. Under Boyd’s leadership, Heinemann will continue its mission of developing and growing teachers, and continue striving toward an unprecedented run of 12 straight years of growth.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ: HMHC) is a global learning company dedicated to changing people’s lives by fostering passionate, curious learners. As a leading provider of pre-K–12 education content, services, and cutting-edge technology solutions across a variety of media, HMH enables learning in a changing landscape. HMH is uniquely positioned to create engaging and effective educational content and experiences from early childhood to beyond the classroom.  HMH serves more than 50 million students in over 150 countries worldwide, while its award-winning children’s books, novels, non-fiction, and reference titles are enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.

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