Board of Directors

Andrew Bird most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Pearson plc, a FTSE100 company, from 2020 to 2024 where he led the transformation of the business into the digital and AI age.

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Mr. Bird was a member of Pearson’s board of directors. Before joining Pearson, Mr. Bird spent 14 years as Chairman of Walt Disney International, where he was responsible for all of the company’s activities outside the United States across all business units except Parks & Resorts, from 2004 to 2018. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bird served as President of Turner Broadcasting International from 1993 to 2003, where he oversaw the launch and growth of Turner’s entertainment brands, including Cartoon Network, TNT, and TCM, as well as the distribution and sales for CNN International. Mr. Bird has also served as an advisor to His Majesty’s Government Department of Business & Trade. In recognition of his services to UK media and entertainment, Mr. Bird was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Mr. Bird received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language and literature at Newcastle University.

Peter Cohen has owned an education consulting firm, COWATCO LLC, since February 2022. Previously, Mr. Cohen served as President of the University of Phoenix from May 2017 to January 2022. Prior to that, he was the U.S. Group President for McGraw Hill Education from November 2013 to April 2017, overseeing the company's U.S. K-12 and higher education businesses.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Cohen was CEO of Pearson plc’s K-12 Schools division in the United States from 2008 to 2013, and served as both President and CEO of Sylvan Learning from 1996 to 2008. Mr. Cohen currently serves as a board member of FullBloom, a provider of K-12 education services, and as a senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group, where he consults on pre-K-12, higher education, and workforce development. He is also a board member and treasurer of Education Week, a leading education information publication, and serves on the boards of Carnegie Learning, a provider of K-12 education products and services, and Primrose Schools, an early childhood education provider. In addition, Mr. Cohen is the board chair of Teachers of Tomorrow, a K-12 teacher certification and training organization. Mr. Cohen is a graduate of the University of Redlands, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business.

Jeffrey Denham currently serves as Senior Policy Director at Dentons, a position he has held since 2022. From 2019 to 2022, Mr. Denham served as Public Policy Director at K&L Gates LLP. Mr. Denham is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having served four terms, from 2011 to 2018, representing California's 10th and formerly 19th districts. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Denham was a member of the California State Senate, representing the state's 12th District. He was chairman of the Agriculture and Veterans' Affairs Committees and focused on such issues as education, government waste, agriculture, and economic development. Mr. Denham founded Denham Plastics LLC, a full-service provider of plastic material handling solutions in Salinas, CA. A staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Denham served in Operation Desert Storm with the 452nd Air Force Refueling Wing and was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and various campaign medals for combat duty. Mr. Denham received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

Theodore Kwon is a Partner of Apollo Global Management having joined in 2015. He serves serves as a Trustee of University of Phoenix. Prior to joining Apollo, Mr. Kwon was a Vice President at Angelo, Gordon & Co. from 2012 to 2015. Prior thereto, Mr. Kwon worked at Weston Presidio and was a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Citigroup. Mr. Kwon also serves on the board of directors of Vanta Education, a collection of premier higher education schools located in various international markets, Apollo Enterprise Strategies, a global services company that provides business critical solutions to Apollo’s strategic origination platforms, and the investment committee and oversight committee of Apollo Aligned Alternatives, a leading semi-liquid private markets fund with over $23 billion in diversified assets. Mr. Kwon previously served on the board of directors of The Fresh Market, a specialty grocery business with 166 stores located predominantly in the Southeastern U.S, and Tegra Global, a sportswear apparel manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere. Mr. Kwon is also a non-profit board director of The Korea Society. Mr. Kwon graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Chris Lynne has spent more than 20 years in higher education, championing career-focused education for nontraditional students. As the first in his immediate family to benefit from higher education, Chris has dedicated his career to expanding pathways for underserved and marginalized students to achieve career and social mobility.

Mr. Lynne has served as president of University of Phoenix since 2022, a position he was elevated to after joining the university in 2018 as CFO. Mr. Lynne has collaborated with the executive team of the university to advance its transformation, which has included broadening its focus beyond degrees to include innovative career mobility solutions for students, alumni and employers. During his tenure, the university has achieved pivotal improvements in student retention, graduation rates and satisfaction.

A seasoned executive in higher education, Mr. Lynne previously served in leadership roles at Northcentral University, where he led the university through a period of change and growth as the COO and CFO, at HotChalk as President and COO, and as owner of Transcend Education Group.

Mr. Lynne holds a B.S. in Accounting from Purdue University and an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Martin H. Nesbitt is a Trustee of the University of Phoenix. Mr. Nesbitt is a Senior Partner, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Vistria Group, having founded the firm in 2013. Prior to founding Vistria, Mr. Nesbitt served as President and Chief Executive Officer of TPS Parking Management, LLC (dba The Parking Spot) from 1998 to 2012. Mr. Nesbitt conceptualized and co-founded The Parking Spot. Previously, Mr. Nesbitt served as an officer of the Pritzker Realty Group, L.P. and an Equity Vice President and Investment Manager at LaSalle Partners. Mr. Nesbitt currently serves on the board of directors of CareMetx, a digital hub platform that focuses on specialty patient treatments, Help at Home, an innovative program and service to provide in-home care, Treliant, a consulting firm, Chewy, Inc., an online source for pet-related necessities, and American Airlines Group, an airline holding company. Mr. Nesbitt is also a Trustee of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, a Trustee of Rush University Medical Center and serves as Chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation. Mr. Nesbitt received a Bachelor of Arts and Honorary Doctorate from Albion College and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Adnan A. Nisar is a Senior Partner and Co-Head of Knowledge and Learning Solutions at The Vistria Group having joined at its inception in 2013. Prior to joining Vistria, Mr. Nisar was a Senior Associate at Mubadala Development Company in Abu Dhabi from 2011 to 2013. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nisar worked at M3 Capital Partners. Mr. Nisar currently serves on the boards of directors of Risepoint, a leading technology-enabled services company that assists institutions of higher education in taking academic programs online, Unitek Learning, the parent company for five distinguished learning institutions in the areas of healthcare, nursing, and emergency medical services, Sleep Doctor, a sleep wellness company, The Gardner School, an early childhood education provider, and Vanta Education, a collection of premier higher education schools located in various international markets. Mr. Nisar holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Finance from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

John Sizer was a Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP until 2020, having worked for the firm for nearly 37 years. Mr. Sizer is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Arizona and prior to retiring from Deloitte & Touche LLP was an audit partner to public companies and higher education companies. Currently, Mr. Sizer is a board member of Stearns Bank, N.A., a privately held bank based in Minnesota. He also serves on the boards of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Aguila Youth Leadership Institute, a not-for-profit organization in Arizona. Mr. Sizer received a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Arizona State University.

Itai Wallach is a partner in the Private Equity group of Apollo Global Management, which he joined in 2012. Mr. Wallach also currently serves on the board of directors of Arconic and Cengage Group, and previously served on the board of directors of Qdoba Restaurant Corporation from January 2022 to September 2022, McGraw-Hill Education from March 2017 to July 2021, Smart & Final from June 2019 to July 2021, Smart Stores Holding Corp. from April 2019 to April 2020, The Fresh Market from January 2017 to December 2020 and Jacuzzi Brands from February 2017 to February 2019. Prior to joining Apollo, Mr. Wallach was a member of the Financial Sponsors Investment Banking group at Barclays Capital. Mr. Wallach graduated with distinction as an Ivey scholar from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario with a B.A. in Honors Business Administration.

Johannes Worsoe is the Chief Financial Officer of Apollo Asset Management, a position he has held since 2022. Prior to joining Apollo, Mr. Worsoe held various positions with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (“MUFG”) Americas Holdings and its predecessor entities, stretching back to 2001. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer of the Americas from 2016 to 2021 and Americas Head of Investment Banking and Markets from 2013 to 2016. Prior to his time with MUFG, Mr. Worsoe held capital markets, private banking and other investment related roles in Denmark, Spain and the United States. Currently, Mr. Worsoe also serves as the Vice Chair of the board of RoundAbout Theatre Company and as an advisory board member of the Mount Sinai Department of Dermatology. Mr. Worsoe holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He is also a graduate of the Danish Banking School and has attended executive leadership programs at Harvard Business School.