Co-founder David Blake to return as CEO

Degreed, the global innovator in professional lifelong learning chosen by more than one in three Fortune 50 companies, today announced the acquisition of talent academy platform, Learn In, and the return of Co-founder David Blake as CEO. Blake was previously the Co-founder and CEO of Learn In.

Learn In helps companies establish internal talent academies that bring together all the resources needed for building a highly skilled workforce, including the longer journey of developing deep skills. Learn In’s core features supplement those of the category-defining Degreed LXP (Learning Experience Platform), including a prepaid learning stipend card, a world-class skills marketplace and custom program builder, a tuition benefits manager, and dedicated coaching.

“A corporate capability academy goes beyond ‘a library of content,’” said global industry analyst and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company, Josh Bersin. “It’s a place people go to advance their job-related capabilities. It goes beyond technical and functional skills and focuses on the real business capabilities a company needs to thrive.”

Degreed plus Learn In will unify the broader range of development options people use, spanning daily learning to long-term upskilling for individual career growth and innovation within organizations.

Blake’s plans for the future of Degreed were divergent with the current direction, so an amicable decision was made that he return to the company as CEO and execute that vision.

Degreed thanks Dan Levin for the progress he has driven and his stewardship of the Degreed mission over the past 15 months, and is grateful for his accomplishments, including increasing our client base, establishing operational rigor for scale, and significantly expanding our partner ecosystem and overall global footprint.

“Businesses that can quickly build effective talent are the ones that will be able to deliver on strategic business goals,” said David Blake, Co-founder and CEO of Degreed. “Just as Degreed created the LXP market, Learn In has begun for talent academies. Now together, we have the product and technology to help our customers deliver business capabilities at scale with continued innovation in the learning and skills space.”

“At BMO, our strategy is to build a digitally-enabled bank that’s ready for the future. This means we need to equip employees with the skills they need for their job, their career, for the future of work, and as they follow their personal passions,” says Gina Jeneroux, Chief Learning Officer at BMO Financial Group. “As Degreed and Learn In come together, it will offer a more integrated opportunity for organizations like ours to engage employees and build a broader range of skills—from curious, ‘in-the-moment’ learning through to deeper reskilling and credentials.”

This is the fourth acquisition for Degreed, and Blake re-joins a seasoned Degreed leadership team from Bank of America, Mastercard, Danone, LinkedIn, Adobe, SAP and Saba.

About Degreed

Degreed empowers innovation through learning. As a changemaker on a global scale, we work with one in three Fortune 50 companies to spark a culture of learning across their enterprise. In one fluid experience, we help you identify the skills you have and build the skills you need – through individual, collaborative and experiential modes of learning – to drive individual and business results. Founded in 2012, Degreed is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with users spanning 191 countries.

Learn more about Degreed: Website | YouTube | LinkedIn | Twitter

About Learn In

Learn In helps companies establish talent academies that steer all the resources needed for building a highly skilled workforce. HR, Talent and L&D leaders use Learn In to modernize access to learning budgets and world-class programs, and to simplify the delivery of custom programs to employee groups. Learn In’s core features include a tuition benefits manager, a prepaid learning stipend card, a world-class program marketplace and custom program builder, and dedicated coaching. Now every employee can build deeper skills precisely aligned to company needs. Co-founded by the founders of Degreed, Learn In is backed by leading edtech & future-of-work investors, including Firework Ventures, Kickstart Fund, Album, GSV, and Village Global, and has been covered in CNBC, USA Today, EdTechReview, EdSurge, Fast Company, and Techcrunch.

Learn more about Learn In: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

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