Trio of new leaders – including pair of senior execs from competitors 2U and Trilogy – brings deep expertise to Emeritus as it builds the largest and fastest growing upskilling education platform
Boston – August 18, 2021 – Emeritus, the global leader in making high-quality upskilling education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world, announced today three new senior hires: Jamie Farrell as Chief Revenue Officer, Ahmed Haque as Chief Product Officer and Ranil Herath as President – Healthcare. Each will work closely with the company’s senior leadership team to scale key areas of the business and accelerate the company’s aggressive growth. Just this year, Emeritus has experienced rapid growth, with 2x topline growth year-over-year. And, in FY21, alone, the company reached learners in 80+ countries and offered programs through partnerships with more than 50 of the world’s top universities, and expanded into K12 education with the acquisition of iD Tech.
The trio of new hires brings deep experience in the key categories of education and workforce upskilling. Farrell has served in leadership roles including chief operating officer, chief revenue officer, senior vice president of marketing and admissions, and vice president for business development at ed tech companies Trilogy Education, 2U, General Assembly, Academic Partnerships and Graduation Alliance. Haque founded his own ed-tech consulting firm, Didactic Labs, and was senior vice president of innovation at 2U and chief academic officer at Trilogy Education. And, Herath comes from Adtalem Global Education, where he was responsible for marketing, enrollment, global business development, partnerships and workforce solutions
“We are extremely fortunate to welcome three senior leaders who are seasoned in their respective areas of our business and passionate about our mission to make high-quality education accessible across the globe,” said Ashwin Damera, co-founder and CEO of Emeritus. “We will benefit from their collective expertise and deep insights, and I look forward to working closely with Ranil, Jamie and Ahmed to grow our business at a rate that will make us the largest and fastest growing upskilling platform.”
Jamie Farrell joins Emeritus as Chief Revenue Officer. In this newly created role, she will work with the company’s global business heads and their teams to establish a focused revenue function across respective business lines. She will also scale and drive all enrollment functions, including advising, marketing, partnerships and revenue analytics and operations. Farrell has spent a career impacting millions of lives through education, serving as chief operating officer, chief revenue officer, senior vice president of marketing and admissions, and vice president for business development at such ed tech companies as Trilogy Education, 2U, General Assembly, Academic Partnerships and Graduation Alliance. She has an unwavering belief in the ability of education to transform lives and has demonstrated, time and again, her expertise in building and driving teams to achieve that mission. Farrell is currently a board member for Credly as well as an advisor for OnDeck and Osmosis.
In the newly created role of Chief Product Officer, Ahmed Haque will work closely with various businesses and company functions, with specific focus on developing a product road map and strategy for new courses and customers; ensuring student satisfaction; and supporting marketing and university partnerships.
Haque comes to Emeritus with considerable experience and deep insights on the mechanisms for creating and leveraging scale for high-quality education. He recently founded his own ed-tech consulting firm, Didactic Labs; has advised multiple universities and early-stage ed-tech startups in re-imagining their product portfolios, and was senior vice president of innovation at 2U. He was also an early executive and chief academic officer at Trilogy Education, where he oversaw program design and development, product strategy, analytics, instructional quality, faculty partnership, and program impact. As a former teacher, he is an ardent believer in the power of education as a means for upward mobility and is passionate about designing experiences that offer students a meaningful change in their lives.
As President – Healthcare, Ranil Herath will start up and scale Emeritus’ healthcare vertical globally. With healthcare education expected to be a $14 billion business by 2025, it will become a significant focus for Emeritus. Under Herath’s leadership, the company will develop a full portfolio of programs, including short professional certificate courses, SEPOs and online degrees.
Herath joins Emeritus with more than 20 years of experience in higher education, with a focus on healthcare, working in Asia, Canada and the U.S. Previously, he was at Adtalem Global Education, where he was responsible for marketing, enrollment, global business development, partnerships and workforce solutions. He also led the company’s transformation and growth across medical, veterinary, nursing, business and technology universities in Canada, the U.S. and across the world. Prior to Adtalem, he served as president at several private colleges in Canada. His previous leadership positions have included president, head of Marketing/Enrollment/Global Business Development, and Board chair. In his early career, he worked in pharmaceuticals, technology, and telecommunications.
About Emeritus
Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world. It does this by collaborating with more than 50 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and China. Emeritus’ short courses, degree programs, professional certificates, and senior executive programs help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies and organizations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors and coaches educates more has educated more than 250,000 individuals across 80+ countries. Founded in 2015, Emeritus, part of Eruditus Group, has more than 1,400 employees globally and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai. Following its $650 million Series E funding round in August 2021, the company is valued at $3.2 billion, and is backed by Accel, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Leeds Illuminate, Prosus Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, and Bertelsmann.