Leading the lifelong learning mission.

Chris brings 28 years experience running high-growth scale businesses at enterprise software companies. At Instructure, Chris oversees all aspects of the strategy and customer lifecycle- including product, engineering, marketing, revenue operations, sales and customer experience. Most recently, Chris was General Manager, Americas for the Commercial business at Adobe Systems Inc. Previously, Chris was an Entrepreneur In Residence at Lightspeed Venture Partners and also spent 13 years at SAP, Americas running a variety of domestic and international businesses culminating in his role as EVP & GM, Americas. Chris earned a B.A. in English Literature & Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross as well as a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

Before taking the lead on all Instructure products, Mitch was responsible for the ongoing development of Canvas—ensuring its position as the most modern, scalable, secure, accessible, and easy-to-use learning platform available. Prior to working with us, Mitch served in executive roles at Microsoft, Pearson, and in the not-for-profit and public sectors in Washington state. He graduated from the University of Washington, was a fellow at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and has a master’s degree in information systems from Capella University.

Steve has spent his 25-year technology career building businesses organically—and has seen companies through 20+ acquisitions along the way. Before joining us at Instructure, Steve was the CEO of LANDESK/Ivanti for 13 years. Prior to that, he was the SVP of corporate strategy at Avocent after they acquired his startup, Soronti. Steve also spent 10 years directing marketing for Intel. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in strategy and finance from Brigham Young University.

Misty has extensive global experience at a senior executive level. She was most recently CEO of Penn Foster after it combined with Carrus in 2021. Before coming to Carrus in 2018, she held a position at Instructure as CMO. During her time at Instructure, she led the global growth strategy and delivered marketing programs to fuel that growth, driving value from a private start-up to a publicly traded business valued at over $1 billion. Over her almost 30-year career, she has also served as the VP of Delivery Services for Datamark and has worked in a variety of client advocacy roles for global brands including Intel, Nortel Networks, Hyatt Hotels, and Disney. Misty received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah. She currently serves on the board of directors for Galileo Learning, Intelvio and Bibliu. Misty is also an active member of Women Tech Council and CHIEF, a group dedicated to developing women’s executive leadership.

Over the course of his nine years at Instructure, Matt has made people his priority through advocating for an excellent employee experience and investing in a culture where employees are seen for who they are, valued for the experiences they bring, and supported in their desire to grow. Matt is also our Chief Legal Officer and heads up our legal, privacy, compliance, and corporate development teams. Before Instructure, Matt spent his career as a general counsel for many companies including WebMD and Epocrates. Matt has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. from George Washington University.

Melissa serves as Chief Academic Officer for Instructure, where she drives the company’s global academic strategy. With extensive edtech experience as an educator in both K-12 and higher education institutions and in edtech executive leadership positions, she advocates for educators worldwide to have the necessary resources as they face ever-increasing educational barriers. Melissa currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the education industry non-profit 1EdTech, is an instructor at the University of California, Irvine, and holds several advisory roles at other organizations. She has a master’s degree in educational policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Michael has 25+ years of expertise in delivering consumer technology products across a spectrum of businesses, spanning from fledgling startups to global public companies. Today, Michael leads our Technology and Engineering teams responsible for building key products like Canvas, Mastery, & Learn. His prior role as Chief Technology Officer at Weight Watchers was instrumental in orchestrating a significant digital overhaul. Preceding this, he helmed the Engineering department at SeconMarket, which was later acquired by Nasdaq and presently operates as Nasdaq Private Market. Michael earned his B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science from University College Cork in Ireland.

Rachel is a serial entrepreneur, tech executive, and customer success pioneer with deep experience strengthening customer relationships across the Fortune 1000. Her diverse background includes experience working with startups and Fortune 100 companies, where she has helped scale businesses from under $10M to over $1B at IBM. Rachel has committed her 25-year career to driving customer success and brings extensive experience leading high-performing account management, customer success, professional services, and support teams. She holds an MBA from Georgia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Matthew Pittinsky, Ph.D., is the CEO of Parchment and co-founder and former CEO and Executive Chairman of Blackboard Inc. He serves on the Boards of American University and New Classrooms with past roles on various other boards and non-profits. Between Blackboard and Parchment, Matthew earned his Ph.D. and joined ASU's sociology faculty as a tenure-track assistant professor, specializing in economic sociology, sociology of education, and social network analysis. He now serves as a non-tenure-track visiting scholar at ASU. Matthew is a frequent speaker and writer on education technology and entrepreneurship and is the editor of The Wired Tower (Prentice-Hall Financial Times). He holds a B.S. in Political Science from American University, an Ed.M. in Education Policy from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Articles

• Founder’s Five June 17, 2021
• The Evolving Role of the University Registrar September 10, 2019
• Online Learning 20 Years Later: Five Observations October 31, 2017
• Building Blackboard, Part 1: Six Lessons I Learned Creating a Tech Company in the Higher Education Market May 2, 2017
• The Changing Audience for Credentials: 3 Key Questions March 1, 2017
• Understanding the Differences in What Credentials Are Being Stacked and Why May 23, 2016
• The New College Degree: In an Unbundled World, Curation is King December 30, 2015
• How to Connect K-12 and Higher-Ed with Structured Data October 17, 2015
• Underserved and Overburdened, Transfer Students Face an Uphill Battle to Earn Their Degrees October 8, 2015
• Making Credentials Matter March 31, 2015
• Credentialing in Higher Education: Current Challenges and Innovative Trends March 2, 2015
• Patient Capital Drives Change in Education September 18, 2014
• Extending the Transcript February 10, 2014
• Five Great Promises of E-Learning June 1, 2001

Roshan has more than 20 years of experience building, developing, and leading high-performance cloud, IT, and security teams on a global scale—while strategically aligning IT and security services for organizational success. Prior to joining Instructure, he was SVP of cloud customer operations and the chief information security officer MicroStrategy, a business intelligence and analytics firm. Before that, he led global IT and information security for Cigital, Inc., the largest dedicated global software security firm. Roshan has a master’s degree in information systems from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from SUNY Buffalo.

Shiren has built global software products for millions of users, for over 2 decades, with more than half of his time in education. He previously served as Chief Product Officer, both at Newsela, a K-12 content platform, and before that at General Assembly, the pioneer of career transformation education. He has a master’s degree in interactive media from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from St. Cloud State University.

Peter has a stellar track record in spearheading financial transformations, executing strategic initiatives, and driving substantial growth across diverse industries. With a career spanning over two decades, Peter has consistently delivered exceptional results in roles of escalating responsibility within renowned companies such as Sterling, Jackson Hewitt, and Assurant. Peter is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds an MBA in Management from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Miami University.