Our executive leadership |
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Dov is recognized as a thought leader on a range of topics – from achieving significance in our new 21st century world, to the importance of trust in personal and business dealings to succeeding with both principles and profits in mind. In 2004, he testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission about the need for companies to develop ethical cultures instead of check-the-box, compliance-only approaches, and his views helped shape the amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In 2007, his book, HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything in Business (and in Life), was published by John Wiley & Sons, detailing years of thought about business cultures, philosophy and success. In the acclaimed book, Dov argues, out-behaving our competitors has become critical to out-performing them. In our hyperconnected and hypertransparent world, it is no longer what we do that sets us apart from others, but how we do what we do that matters. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman prominently featured this thinking and excerpts from his interviews with Dov in the best-selling book, The World is Flat. The updated edition, The World Is Flat 3.0, prominently features Dov’s philosophies as Rule #7 (proper use of outsourcing) and Rule #8 (“Hows Matter”) in Friedman’s nine rules for companies to embrace in a flat world. Dov is frequently invited to speak at leading industry events and to senior management and Boards of Directors. His views have been quoted in hundreds of print and broadcast media. Recent presentations include The National Press Club, The Milken Institute Forum, The Outstanding Directors Exchange and The Defense Industry Initiative’s Best Practices Forum. Recent media appearances include ABC’s Good Morning America, BusinessWeek, Charlie Rose, Condé Nast Portfolio and The New York Times. He has also been a keynote speaker at UCLA’s annual commencement. Dov holds degrees in philosophy from UCLA, politics and economics from Oxford, and law from Harvard Law School. He and his wife Maria live in Los Angeles, where LRN is headquartered.
Prior to LRN, Rolfes served as chief operating officer of Intelligent Energy Holdings, a London-based energy solutions group focused on the commercialization of fuel cell technologies. Rolfes ran company-wide operations while also holding a seat on the company's board of directors. Earlier, Rolfes was the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Candle Corporation, one of the largest independent software companies in the U.S., where he oversaw all worldwide financial functions. While at Candle, Rolfes implemented controls and processes to successfully scale the business and help direct the sale of the company to IBM. Simultaneously, Rolfes served as a member of Candle Corporation's advisory board. Rolfes also held numerous executive roles at Mattel Inc., including senior vice president business planning and senior vice president and corporate controller for worldwide operations, and held various accounting and financial management roles for Xerox and Warner/Electra/Atlantic Corporation. Rolfes holds a B.B.A. in accounting from Loyola University and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.
Cole brings more than 25 years experience in professional services to LRN. A veteran consultant and executive at some of the leading consulting firms in the world, he has developed his strategic, analytical and leadership skills and experience to engineer new service innovations, create and standardize business methodologies and processes, and initiate and oversee major business transformations across market segments. A pioneer in the area of customer relationship management (CRM), he is a recognized thought leader in the areas of customer loyalty, reputation management and business performance. Prior to joining LRN, Cole served as Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and a Director at Infosys Consulting, Inc., a business consulting firm and subsidiary of Infosys Technologies Ltd. As a founding officer at Infosys Consulting, Cole made substantial contributions to the firm’s business model, strategic business plans and brand development. Under his leadership, from April 2004 – May 2006, the firm grew to more than 225 employees and more than $40 million of stand alone revenue. With Capgemini (formerly Ernst & Young Consulting) from 1995 to 2004, Cole held a variety of executive and leadership positions, including Head of Global Operations and Member of Group Development Committee. In this position, he oversaw the activities of the firm’s global sales, marketing and communications, global sectors and accounts, centers of excellence, alliances and global disciplines. He also oversaw a three-year, company-wide transformation effort. Other positions held at Capgemini include Vice President, Global Leader of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Service Line, where he managed the company’s global CRM practice; and Partner, Operations Director of Center for Business Innovation. Earlier in his career, Cole spent more than 15 years at Mercer Management in the company’s Market Research Subsidiary (Decision Research Corporation) and the Marketing Strategy Practice. He began his career at Mercer as a field director of tele-research operations and quickly rose to become the youngest vice president in firm’s history. A recognized expert in the field of CRM, Cole co-authored the book, “Customer Connections; New Strategies For Growth,” (Harvard Business School Press 1997), which was nominated for the Financial Times/Booze Allen & Hamilton Business Book of the Year Award. Cole was also nominated for Smithsonian/Computerworld 21st Century Pioneer Award for his work in CRM. He has addressed related topics as a featured speaker at industry conferences, including the Conference Board Annual Marketing Conference, American Marketing Association Customer Workshops and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Executive Conference. His thoughts and perspectives have been featured by leading business, financial and trade publications, ranging from Fast Company and Financial Times to Industry Week and Computerworld. Cole graduated from Bentley College with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and management.
An industry pioneer and seasoned technology executive, Burr brings more than 20 years of experience to LRN. Among his noted career achievements include his founding and leading a number of high-growth companies, innovating new markets and technologies, including the filing of close to 40 patents, and winning numerous industry awards and accolades. Prior to LRN, Burr served as managing partner at Westlake Venture Partners, responsible for managing an investment fund of high net worth individual capital. There, he focused on early stage technology companies and served on the Board of Directors for many investment clients. Earlier, he was a co-founder of NetZero where he served as Chief Executive Officer & Chief Technology Officer, leading the company through its early and rapid growth to its dominate position as one of the world's largest Internet Service Providers. During his tenure, Burr also served as President and a Director and was instrumental in NetZero's Goldman Sachs-led initial public offering. Burr also served as Chief Information Officer at 5Sqaure Inc., which provides ASP technology solutions to the automotive industry, and Director and (pro tem) Chief Strategic Officer at Jambo, a leading pay-per-call Internet company. He also serves as Chairman of the Board at Loveday Inc. Burr was also president of IMPACT Software, an international IT consulting firm serving Fortune 500 companies. Prior to IMPACT, Burr held a senior technology consulting position for IBM, and held various management positions, including vice president of software engineering with Vault Corporation, an Allen & Co. venture-backed software startup where he started his career. Burr has been named one of InfoWorld's "Top 50 IT executives at xSP's," one of Interactive Week's "25 Top Unsung Hero's on the Net" and one of "21 people leading us into 21st Century" by Response Magazine. Burr is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and his media appearances include CNN, MSNBC and various syndicated radio appearances.
Prior to LRN, Blackie served as group vice president of North American sales at Gartner, the technology industry's premier analyst firm, and also spent one year running the sales division for Gartner Learning, a comprehensive provider of technology learning solutions. While there, Blackie helped to increase Gartner's North American business more than five-fold. Prior to joining Gartner, Blackie held numerous sales and management positions at Xerox Corporation. Blackie holds a B.S. from Santa Clara University.
Nott-Kilfoil brings more than 20 years of experience as a human resources executive to LRN. Previously, she served in senior leadership positions for a variety of international, multi-site, growth-oriented firms, including J.D. Power and Associates, PDQuick (formerly PinkDot, Inc.), Air Touch Communications/Air Touch Cellular and Denny’s Inc. Her background and experience includes continuity planning, mergers and acquisitions, change management, employee relations and performance management. Previously, Nott-Kilfoil was Vice President of Human Resources at J.D. Power and Associates, where she was responsible for reengineering the human resources function as part of a company-wide “superior infrastructure” initiative for the global marketing information services firm. There, she established a cohesive set of policies and procedures that created internal equity for all employees, the first internal training department and world-class new associate orientation, and the first executive succession planning and high potential development program, among other accomplishments. At PDQuick (formerly known as PinkDot, Inc.), where she also held the position of Vice President of Human Resources, Nott-Kilfoil established the human resources infrastructure for this privately held e-commerce home delivery company. Her work included the development of the PDQuick Belief System to focus the organization on the behaviors necessary to ensure the success of a nationwide expansion plans. Nott-Kilfoil received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and has completed the Advanced Human Resource Executive Program at the University of Michigan Business School.
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