Renaissance Leadership

With over 20 years of leadership experience, Chris joined Renaissance as a seasoned executive. Formerly the CEO of myON, now part of Renaissance’s digital literacy solutions, Chris has a track record of scaling healthcare and technology firms. Prior roles include CEO at Healthland and positions at McKesson. He holds an MBA from the University of Saint Thomas and a BA in Business Management from Hamline University.

Amita, a Harvard Business School alumna, excels in driving business growth and enhancing customer experiences. With extensive experience leading large sales and post-sales teams, she specializes in revenue amplification and customer satisfaction. Amita collaborates cross-functionally, integrating Sales and Product resources to ensure successful outcomes. She has navigated various sectors including K-12, FinTech, and Human Capital, implementing impactful customer experience platforms. As a Six Sigma Black Belt, Amita offers a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic vision. Recognized for building top-tier Customer Experience teams, she now advises boards, leveraging her expertise to foster long-term growth and strategic objectives.

Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and General Manager of Nearpod, is a visionary education technology innovator with over 25 years of experience. He is dedicated to empowering teachers in the classroom by building technology that provides actionable recommendations, streamlines classroom work, and celebrates students’ achievements.

His significant contributions to the field have garnered major recognition, including the Lamp Lighter Visionary Award in 2014 and the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from SIIA Company CODiE Awards. Prior to joining Renaissance, Todd co-founded myON, a personalized literacy platform that is now part of the Renaissance portfolio. He has also held key roles such as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at PLATO Learning, President and COO of Learning Elements, and Education Program Director at MCI WorldCom.

Kim leads Renaissance’s people-centric initiatives, overseeing everything from recruitment to development and rewards. With a rich background in transforming HR and Talent Management into strategic assets, Kim previously led Talent Management at Centura Health. Her expertise stems from senior HR roles at First Data Corporation and her own consultancy, VeriCarta Consulting. Kim holds a master’s degree in education from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree from Regis University.

Nate brings over 25 years of extensive financial experience to Renaissance. His journey encompasses twelve years in public accounting with the Big 4 firm Ernst & Young, followed by fifteen years primarily in private equity. Nate has cultivated hands-on proficiency in collaborating closely with finance and accounting teams, diverse stakeholders, including boards of directors, audit committees, and financial institutions in high growth and fast paced environments. Recently, he held the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Optiv, Inc., a prominent cybersecurity solutions provider. Nate holds a BA from Pittsburgh State University, where he lettered in Varsity Football.

Sarah oversees Renaissance’s marketing, government affairs, education affairs, and the proposal teams. She currently serves on the board of Bellwether Media and has previously lent her expertise to the board of empowerU. Her impressive career includes roles as VP of Marketing at myON and VP of Business Development at Barnes & Noble. Sarah holds a BSBA in marketing from the University of Denver and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her work. An avid reader, Sarah cherishes memories of her father reading “A Circus of Our Own” by Irmengarde Eberle to her every night, instilling a lifelong love of books.

Chris, with over 20 years of executive leadership experience, joined Renaissance in 2017. As COO, he oversees all aspects of business operations and excellence, drawing from a background that includes roles as CTO and CEO. Chris excels in reshaping go-to-market strategies, launching new products, and executing mergers and acquisitions. Previously, he served as SVP of Product Development for Pearson Learning Services and President of Pearson Digital Learning. A U.S. Navy veteran, Chris holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University.

With over 12 years of diverse experience in education and sales leadership, Jonathan Pounds currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Sales where he works daily to support student growth and serve our mission to accelerate learning for all. In this role, Jonathan leads a high-performing remote team, driving strategic sales initiatives across the United States and is passionate about mentoring, innovation, and customer satisfaction. Jonathan has been with Renaissance since 2012 serving in various leadership roles within the sales organization. A graduate of the University of Florida, Jonathan enjoys spending time with his family, attending his sons’ sports and activities, volunteering as an advisor of Fostering Hope, and playing golf when time allows.

Neal, who joined Renaissance in 2021, boasts over 21 years of legal leadership in technology and data companies. Previously, he served as General Counsel of iCIMS and Chief Legal Officer of Intersections and Credit Management Solutions. Neal’s background includes roles as a law firm partner and counsel, specializing in technology litigation and transactions. He holds a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from New York University School of Law.

Mary previously led GL Education as Managing Director and Sales and Marketing Director before being appointed Managing Director of Renaissance Global. With a background primarily in telecoms sales and marketing, she transitioned into technology after a career in publishing following her studies at Loughborough University. Committed to advancing education, Mary focuses on providing schools worldwide with advanced tools and integrated solutions to enhance student progress. Beyond her professional endeavors, she actively supports charitable organizations and serves as a governor at Prior’s Field Girls School and a member of the Worshipful Company of Educators.

Scott, who joined Renaissance in 2022, brings over a decade of experience in leading M&A and corporate development efforts. Formerly Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Wind River Environmental, he oversaw strategy, deal execution, and integration. Prior roles include Vice President of Corporate Development and M&A at Cayan and Private Equity Associate at Providence Equity Partners. Scott began his career at Morgan Stanley in Global Services Investment Banking. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, where he played varsity hockey, and actively participates in Boston’s Big Brother Big Sister program.

Alex leverages six years of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) experience, coupled with a teaching background in Human Resource Management, to craft inclusive programs and lead training sessions at Renaissance. As the overseer of diversity, inclusion, culture, and employee engagement, Alex chairs the Renaissance Inclusion Council and aids in establishing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Prior, he served as a DEI consultant at Paradigm Strategy, providing tailored trainings and advising on DEI initiatives. Alex holds a PhD in Organizations & Management from the University of California, Irvine, Merage School of Business, and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University, College of Business Administration.

Jason is a partner with Francisco Partners and focuses on investments in the application software and education technology sectors. Prior to joining Francisco Partners in 2012, Jason worked at Elevation Partners, a technology-focused private equity fund in Silicon Valley. Prior to this, Jason was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he worked on M&A and financing transactions in the insurance and banking industries. Jason also worked at Permira Advisers, a large-cap global private equity firm, in its Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group. Jason serves on the board of directors of Civitas Learning, Discovery Education, NMI, Renaissance, and Verifone. Jason formerly served on the board of directors of Capsilon, Corsair, CoverMyMeds, Metaswitch Networks, myON, and Paymetric.

Ezra is a co-president at Francisco Partners and focuses primarily on investments in the software and services sectors, with a specific emphasis on healthcare technology. Prior to joining Francisco Partners in 2003, Ezra was a venture capitalist with Battery Ventures, where he was involved in identifying, executing, and managing private equity investments in software companies. Ezra serves on the board of directors of Avalon Healthcare, HealthcareSource, Kyruus, Landmark Health, QGenda, and Renaissance. He formerly served on the board of directors of Aconex, AdvancedMD, API Healthcare, Attachmate, Attenti, eSolutions, Healthland, LYNX Medical Systems, Nextech, Quadramed, Quantros, RedPrairie, SMART Modular, TRC Healthcare, and T-System.

Dr. Vicki Philips is CEO at the National Center on Education and the Economy and education executive and strategist for drvickip, LLC. She has tirelessly championed students’ rights to a high-quality education through myriad leadership roles, including as a high school teacher, a state-level policymaker, nonprofit leader, the superintendent of Portland Public Schools, the Pennsylvania chief state school officer, and a K–12 education director. Vicki holds an EdD in international leadership, educational leadership, and management from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom; an MA in school psychology from Western Kentucky University; and a BS in elementary education and special education, K–8, K–12, from Western Kentucky University.

Steve is co-managing partner of The Rise Fund, the $5B global impact investing fund founded by global alternative asset firm TPG. Prior to joining TPG in 2015, Steve was the CEO of Asurion, the world’s leading provider of technology protection services with over $6B in revenues. Prior to Asurion, Steve served as the global managing partner for Bain & Company. Steve is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Stanford Business School, where he is a regular guest lecturer. He also serves on the boards of The Bridgespan Group, InStride, Dreambox Learning, EverFi, and Charles Schwab.

Chaka serves as a managing director on the senior leadership team at The Broad Center, a national organization focused on leadership development in public education. He is a member of the advisory board for the National Head Start Association as well as the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. In addition, Chaka is a Pahara Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a Forbes contributor on leadership and entrepreneurship. He holds degrees in economics and psychology from UCLA and an MBA from Stanford University. Chaka is the author of two books: Mastering The Hire: 12 Strategies to Improve Your Odds of Finding the Best Hire and The Empowered Candidate: The Power You Have to Land the Job You Deserve.

Alan is a principal with Francisco Partners. Prior to joining Francisco Partners, Alan worked as an analyst with J.P. Morgan in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications group, where he focused on advising public and private technology companies in the software sector. Alan serves on the board of directors of Comodo, iconectiv, and Renaissance. He formerly served on the board of directors of Sectigo.

Courtney is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Portfolio Talent & Leadership. She is involved with improving organizational and leadership effectiveness across the portfolio, including building and enhancing executive leadership teams and boards through C-suite assessment, recruitment, coaching and development, and high-impact organization and culture initiatives.

Before joining Blackstone in 2021, Courtney served as a Partner at Bain & Company in its Leadership & Talent/Organization practice. With 20 years of global management consulting experience at Bain & Company across multiple sectors and geographies, Courtney most recently advised corporate and private equity clients on CEO succession, CEO and board effectiveness and broader organizational talent strategies and solutions, and she also built and led several of the firm’s global human capital teams and capabilities. She also served as a Partner and Managing Director for Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive search and talent assessment firm, and European Marketing Director for M&M Mars. Earlier, she held product and marketing roles with Toyota/Lexus and began her career at WPP/Hill and Knowlton.

Courtney earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from The University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in Economics. She currently serves on the boards of Mphasis and Renaissance.

Michael is a Principal in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group focusing on new investment opportunities in Technology across Internet and Software. Since joining Blackstone in 2018, Mr. Puopolo has been involved in the execution of the firm’s investments in Bumble, Ellucian, Liftoff/Vungle, Paysafe, Renaissance Learning, Simpli.fi and UKG (Ultimate Software / Kronos). He currently serves as a director of Liftoff/Vungle, Renaissance Learning and Simpli.fi.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Puopolo worked in Private Equity at The Carlyle Group and as an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Puopolo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar.

Eli is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group, where he focuses on investments in the Technology and Financial Services sectors. Since initially joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Nagler has been involved in the execution of the firm’s investments in Alight Solutions, BankUnited, Bayview Asset Management, Dynamo Software, Ellucian, Exeter Finance, IntraFi Network, Lendmark Financial Services, MB Aerospace, Paysafe, Refinitiv, Renaissance Learning, Sphera, Tradeweb, Viva Capital, Vivint, and Vivint Solar. He currently serves as a Director of Ellucian, IntraFi Network, Paysafe, Renaissance Learning, and Sphera.

Before rejoining Blackstone after the completion of an MBA, Mr. Nagler worked at the United States Treasury Department in the Office of Capital Markets.

Mr. Nagler received an AB magna cum laude from Harvard College and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a John L. Loeb Fellow. He is also a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Sam serves as a non-executive director at Goldman Sachs International. He also serves on the board of Oxford University Innovation, the spin-out arm of the University that commercialized Vaccitech, the technology platform behind the Oxford/Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Alongside his board roles, Sam is a venture partner at Lakestar Advisors, a pan-European multi-stage technology venture capital fund.

Before returning to business in 2020, Sam was a UK politician, serving as the Member of Parliament for East Surrey from 2010 through to 2019. During his time as a lawmaker, Sam was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron in Downing Street, attended Cabinet, and was a government minister in four departments including Education, the Cabinet Office, Justice, and as Minister for international Science, Technology, Innovation and Higher Education.

Born in the UK, and brought up in Ghana, Sam began his career in Investment banking at Goldman Sachs, after which he was an angel investor in and developed a number of early-stage businesses. He earned an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford in 1999.