Blackboard co-founder Matthew Pittinsky has returned to the education technology company as chief executive officer nearly 30 years after helping establish the learning management system category.
His appointment is part of a broader leadership expansion as Blackboard develops artificial intelligence capabilities and reconsiders how its technology supports educators, students, and academic institutions.
Pittinsky co-founded Blackboard in 1997 and previously served as its chief executive officer and executive chairman. He later led digital credentialing company Parchment as CEO.
His experience also includes work as an educator and education researcher. Pittinsky was a tenure-track assistant professor of sociology at Arizona State University, where he taught undergraduate courses and researched the sociology of education. He remains a visiting scholar at the university.
Pittinsky plans to organize Blackboard’s strategy around three areas: the learner, the process of learning, and evidence of what was learned. The approach is intended to move the learning management system beyond course administration toward more active support for individual learning and assessment.
Blackboard also appointed Jason Simpson as chief technology officer in September. Simpson brings more than 25 years of experience in software engineering, cloud infrastructure, security, and large-scale technology transformation.
Simpson is responsible for platform reliability, performance, security, and the technical infrastructure required to accelerate product development.
Beth Lebowitz joined the company as chief legal officer. She has 15 years of experience in technology law, privacy, commercial contracts, and corporate governance. At Unanet, she led legal strategy and AI governance initiatives. Her previous education technology experience includes advising Parchment and CampusLogic.
Blackboard enters the next phase of its development as a debt-free company focused specifically on teaching and learning. Its portfolio includes Blackboard LMS, Ally digital accessibility technology, and institutional effectiveness products.
The company serves thousands of educational institutions and plans to use its expanded leadership team to guide product innovation as AI changes teaching, learning, and academic assessment.
KEY QUOTE:
“The learning management system is still largely a course management system. AI technologies provide an opportunity to fulfill the promise of what a true learning management system can do. Our mission is to help educators turn teaching into learning. Bringing that vision to life will take the collective expertise of Blackboard’s talent, working closely with educators to drive innovation and deliver a different experience.”
Matthew Pittinsky, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blackboard
