Management Team

Jack joined HMH in 2017 as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, bringing with him extensive background in the K–12 education and technology space. Prior to HMH, Jack was the CEO at Renaissance Learning, a leader in K–12 learning analytics, owned by Hellman & Friedman and Google Capital. With more than 25 years of management experience in the software and information industry, Jack is highly respected in the field of education technology. He has been active in the K–12 education industry since 1999 and was the founding CEO of bigchalk.com, where he created an education network serving 40,000 schools. He was later president and CEO of the Pearson Technology Group. Prior to joining Renaissance Learning, Jack was a member of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer. Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University and was honored with the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for his leadership.

Joe joined HMH from Morgan Stanley where he was an investment banker in the Global Media and Communications Group and led the firm’s advisory of clients in the education content and information services sectors. He has been involved in many of the most important transactions within the education sector over the last decade and brings a diverse combination of strategic, financial, and investor relations expertise. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Joe served as an officer in the United States Navy where he held leadership roles aboard a ballistic missile submarine and as an assistant professor of Naval Science at Northwestern University. He received his Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy.

Bill joined Houghton Mifflin in May of 2007 as Senior Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel and was made Executive Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel in March 2008. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Counsel of Harcourt Education Group. Bill oversees all legal, regulatory, and corporate matters for the company. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Vicki joined Heinemann – the leading publisher of professional books and resources for K–12 educators – in 2003 as the Director of Professional Development. In this role, she repositioned Heinemann PD from a sideline business to an integral and key part of Heinemann Publishing. In 2015, she was promoted to SVP and General Manager of Heinemann and in 2017 she was elevated to EVP and General Manager of Heinemann. She has been a passionate advocate for children and teachers throughout her career – first as a counselor for students with special needs, then as the Special Assistant for Education Policy in the administration of New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen. Vicki holds a Master of Science in Management from Antioch University New England and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of Texas.

Amy joined HMH in 2015 through the acquisition of Scholastic’s EdTech business where she led the Marketing organization. In 2017, she was elevated to Chief Marketing Officer and oversees product marketing, field marketing, market research, an in-house agency, and digital and demand generation teams. She has more than 20 years of experience in educational technology, publishing, and media in both marketing and business development roles. Before HMH, Amy worked at several leading publishers including Scholastic, Time Inc., and Forbes. At Scholastic, Amy was VP of Marketing and oversaw the transition of Scholastic's EdTech business from single product to multiple product lines under a unified brand. Amy has a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University.

Mike Evans is Chief Revenue Officer for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt the premiere learning company. Mike is responsible for K-12 go-to-market and customer lifecycle including sales, marketing, customer success, technical support and corporate program management. Prior to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mike was Chief Financial Officer for McGraw Hill Education where he played a key role in affecting its proposed merger with Cengage. Before McGraw Hill Education Mike was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Renaissance Learning a SAAS provider to Pre-K12 schools in the US and internationally. Mike’s responsibilities included a variety of operational and financial areas for this private equity backed company. Prior to Renaissance Mike was Senior Vice President, General Manager for Pre-K12 Literacy and Mathematics for Pearson Education’s Learning Services division, provider of school instructional solutions. Previously at Pearson, Mike was President of Pearson’s student information business (Pearson School Systems) and lead K12 software development and digital software product management for the company. Before Pearson, Mike was the Chief Operating Officer at Bigchalk, a K12 library database provider. Mike also held various senior management positions in both broadcast and cable television including his role as Assistant General Manager of the Food Network cable television channel.

Matthew has devoted his career to transforming education and ensuring that academic success is attainable for students of all backgrounds. He joined HMH in 2017 and leads the development and strategy of the company’s supplemental and intervention solutions. Prior to HMH, Matthew worked at McGraw-Hill Education, overseeing strategy, operations, marketing, and product development for a suite of adaptive learning programs. Matthew also founded education startups – Redbird Advanced Learning, a personalized learning company that developed next generation math and language arts adaptive digital curricula and online teacher professional learning programs; and Rocket Group, the United States’ largest provider of in-school tutoring, which served students in 140 school systems across 20 states. He holds a dual master's degree in business and education from Harvard University and is an honors graduate of Morehouse College.

Peter George joined HMH in 2018, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the software and technology field, including expertise in conceptualizing, managing, and delivering large, complex, and distributed software products and systems. Most recently with Blackboard Corporation, and prior to that with identity and access management provider Courion Corporation, Peter has developed integrated, world-class user experiences and driven continuous improvement efforts to support faster development and deployment of powerful new products. He spent over a decade leading the products and technology organizations at Boston-based software company Kronos, where he was instrumental in the company’s extraordinary growth. Peter has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.

Kristen joined Harcourt as Director of Supply Chain in 2006 focusing on process improvement, supply chain analytics, strategic sourcing, supplier management, and business systems enablement. In 2007, she was promoted to Vice President of Supply Chain and Indirect Procurement following Houghton Mifflin’s acquisition of Harcourt. Since that time, Kristen’s responsibilities have broadened to include HMH’s global operations and customer experience including supply chain planning, strategic sourcing and procurement, customer experience, distribution, scoring center operations, and overall operational excellence across HMH. Prior to joining HMH, Kristen held various positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and a startup focused on eProcurement systems. Kristen holds a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University, is a Certified Public Accountant, is a Girl Scout Volunteer, and has sat on the Board of the Wisconsin International School.

Amy has over 20 years of experience in IT managing complex, cross functional project and programs. At HMH, she oversees enterprise technology solutions and infrastructure, including information security and company-wide software applications, partnering across the business to support HMH's vision for the future. Before joining HMH, Amy worked at Charles River Laboratories and Boston Scientific where she led the IT Sales, Marketing and Communications organizations. She has a track record of continually seeking opportunities to increase business partner satisfaction and deepen business partner relationships. In addition, she has expertise in identifying and driving implementations, and supporting innovative and cutting-edge applications across the IT organization. Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from Liberty University in Virginia.

In her role at HMH, Bianca directs all corporate communications activities, including media relations, executive communications, thought leadership activities and employee communications. She also oversees the Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, which focus on connecting employees to teachers and students through the company’s signature HMH Classroom Corps program, employee Community Investment Councils nationwide and HMH’s Books for Equity program. Before HMH, Bianca held a variety of agency leadership roles where she oversaw strategic communications programs for Fortune 500 companies across a range of industries. A Boston native, Bianca holds a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and the Women’s Network Advisory Board for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Jim brings more than 20 years of experience in educational technology, product development, strategy, marketing, and sales support to his position as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Core Curriculum, where he focuses on enhancing and deepening HMH’s basal core business. Most recently, Jim served as Chief Product and Strategy Officer for Achieve3000, where he led a broad portfolio of teams and projects to develop innovative ways to differentiate instruction through blended learning. Jim has also held roles at Pearson, National Geographic, and HMH, where he previously served as Senior Vice President, Product Management and Strategy, working on comprehensive curriculum solutions within the K-12 space. He is passionate about the role of technology within curriculum development, and dedicated to supporting students and teachers. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Business Administration from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Alejandro is a seasoned leader in organizational and leadership transformation. He joined HMH in 2017 as the Chief People Officer, where he focuses on enabling the success of the employee community through strategic people initiatives including leadership and talent development, talent management, and culture change. Prior to HMH, Alejandro worked at Laureate Education where he served as the Chief Talent and Organization Development Officer, responsible for building the talent infrastructure for the company. He also held significant tenures at Dell and Motorola. Alejandro has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Metropolitan University in Mexico City and a Master of Science degree with a specialty in Robotics and Automation from the Monterrey Institute of Technology.