Governance

Andrew has been an entrepreneur for the past 15 years, having raised capital to start his own company and eventually taking that company public. He has years of experience introducing the newest and best innovations into higher education.  He is passionate about taking new innovative ideas and bringing them to life to help others.

Andrew has been recognized for his experience, passion, and vision as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, in San Diego, and recently was acknowledged for his unique approach to the delivery of distance education by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), receiving the Innovation Award for the development of Constellation, a state-of-the-art platform and suite of e-online textbooks providing easier ways to learn. Andrew has been recognized by Inc. 5000 when the company was ranked in 2008 as the 14th fastest-growing company in America.

Andrew believes that a culture of giving and community engagement should be the foundation of all of his endeavors. He serves on the board of directors for Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, and his team has been recognized nationally for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, recently receiving the Silver Stevie Award for CSR of the year.

Andrew earned a BA in Communication Arts from Pacific Lutheran University and an MBA from University of Phoenix.

Gregory Finkelstein, Chief Operating Officer, was a founder and executive operator of two successful education business: The Beacon Institute for Learning, an Inc. 500 bootcamp business started in the mid ‘90s, and Deltak, one of the first OPM companies which started in the early 2000s.

Gregory led Deltak through its acquisition by Wiley in 2012, growing it 2.5x in five years post acquisition. Prior to Deltak, he helped Beacon establish partnerships with private and public universities supporting technology and health sciences management programs delivered in a bootcamp manner. He started his career as a senior sales executive at USConnect in the early ‘90s.

Gregory joined Zovio at the end of 2018 to oversee all operational aspects of the core business and manage all newly acquired businesses. He is a graduate of Tulane University, where he received a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering.

Kevin Royal, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, is a certified public accountant who has held previous roles as chief financial officer for Maxwell Technologies, Inc.; Blue Coat Systems, Inc.; and Novellus Systems, Inc., three high-growth technology organizations. Kevin has helped these organizations grow both organically and through successful acquisitions.

Having joined Zovio as CFO in 2015, he left in 2017 for personal reasons unrelated to the Company. He rejoined us as Chief Financial Officer in April 2018 and oversees and facilitates the company’s financial operations. Kevin earned his BBA in Accounting from Harding University.

John Semel, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer, is responsible for planning and executing the company’s merger and acquisitions (M&A) strategy.

Prior to joining Zovio in 2019, John served as the head of strategy and M&A for Apollo-backed Mood Media and John Wiley and Sons, where he ran strategic planning and architected their online learning Solutions business, acquiring six companies, including Deltak, during his eight years at Wiley. Over his career, he has held senior strategy and principal investment roles for MTV Networks, The Hearst Corporation, Everger Investment Associates, and PRIMEDIA. He began his career at JP Morgan and Company as an analyst and then associate in Equity Capital Markets and Syndicate before moving on to High Yield Capital Markets and Syndicate.

He holds a BA in Greek and Latin from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Diane Thompson, EVP and Secretary and General Counsel, joined Zovio in 2008 and oversees all legal and compliance matters for the company.

Prior to joining the Zovio team, Diane spent more than 11 years with a multi-billion-dollar education company and managed the overall strategic direction of a global HR function, including management of legal issues and diversity initiatives.

She earned her BA from St. Cloud University and her MA from Antioch University. She holds a JD from the University of Arizona College of Law. She has been a member of the Arizona State Bar since 1992.

Umang Jain, EVP and Chief Technology Officer, is responsible for defining and executing on the vision for the internally facing IT programs and externally facing digital products for the company.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in applying technology and leadership skills to drive efficiencies and innovation in business. Prior to joining Zovio in 2019, he served as the CIO for Hill Physicians Medical Group, where he successfully drove the digital transformation of the company by introducing virtual care programs, replacing legacy applications and infrastructure and modernized the data analytics and data integration capabilities. Before Hill, he was at Blue Shield of California where he was the key IT leader of the billion-dollar transformation program that replaced legacy applications and automated business process. Earlier, he was at Deloitte Consulting helping define and implement IT strategy across multiple industries. In addition, he founded Bright Start, an angel investment group that funds and mentors early-stage startups in the education space.

He holds a bachelor’s in Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley Walter A. Haas School of Business.

Marc Brown, EVP and Chief People Officer, is responsible for aligning the business and people strategies for Zovio. His focus is on redesigning all aspects of the company’s people agenda and talent systems to shape a culture of solutions-based innovation, passion for the impact education has on changing lives, and workforce agility in the digital age. Core to these efforts is balancing new technology with the human touch to streamline operations and improve the employee experience.

Prior to joining Zovio in 2014, he served as the VP of Human Resources, Corporate Communications and Facilities at Provide Commerce, and VP of HR at both PETCO and Encore Capital Group.

Marc earned his BS in Management Science from Virginia Tech and his MS in Organization Development from American University and. He has also achieved the Senior Professional in Human Resources Certification and completed the Human Resources Executive Program at Stanford University. He currently serves as a board member, coach, and mentor for The Honor Foundation—a nonprofit institute providing professional development to transitioning Navy SEALs and the US Special Operations community.

Vickie Schray, EVP and Chief External Affairs Officer, joined Zovio is 2011 and is responsible for developing strategy to position the company as a trusted leader and manage external relationships and communication with a diverse set of stakeholders. She oversees Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility, Regulatory and Government Affairs and Public Policy.

Over her 20-year career, she has strategically brought together stakeholders and led major national reforms and initiatives to improve quality, access, and affordability of higher education. Vickie has served in a variety of leadership positions at the US Department of Education including Deputy Director for the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Postsecondary Education and was delegated the authority to serve as the Under Secretary of Education and Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.

Vickie earned her BS in Marketing Education at Oregon State University, her MS at Portland University, and completed her Key Executive Leadership program at American University.

Tom McCarty, SVP and Chief Marketing Office oversees all marketing efforts for the company.

Prior to joining Zovio in 2017, he led his own marketing and management consulting firm where he brought his expertise in marketing, student inquiry, strategy, predictive modeling, and analytics to clients ranging from institutions of higher education to medium-sized businesses and nonprofits. He honed his strategic experience as SVP of University Strategy and SVP of Product Marketing at a major online university.

Tom earned his BA from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA in marketing from San Francisco State University.