EXECUTIVE ADVISOR, LEARNING & WORKFORCE
Most leaders come to me convinced they have a talent gap.
They're usually half right.
I help C-suite leaders find what's actually holding their people back, then build the systems to close the gap. For good.
20 years building learning systems that scale. From early-stage startups to platforms serving 12 million learners worldwide.
ABOUT
Most organizations don't have a talent problem. They have a clarity problem.
Hey, I'm Mari. I've spent nearly 20 years at the intersection of learning science, technology, and workforce development, leading turnarounds, building platforms from scratch and scaling organizations serving millions of learners worldwide.
Here's what I've learned: when leaders come to me with a talent gap, we usually discover the real issue lives somewhere else entirely. In unclear goals. In broken systems. In learning initiatives designed without ever asking what good actually looks like.
I help executives and founders find the real problem, then build the systems to solve it. Not with more training. With the right diagnosis first.
If you suspect your organization is solving the wrong problem, let's find out together.
Three ways we can work together
SERVICES
01
A thought partner who asks the questions your team won't. For CLOs, CPOs and CEOs who suspect the problem they're solving isn't the real one.
→ Monthly retainer · C-suite only
Executive Advisory
02
Before we redesign anything, we diagnose everything. A structured diagnostic and rebuild of your talent infrastructure, starting with what's actually broken, not what looks broken.
→ Project-based · 90-day sprints
Organizational L&D Consulting
03
or EdTech founders who need someone to pressure-test their assumptions about how people actually learn, before those assumptions get built into the product.
→ For EdTech companies ready to build learning that actually works
EdTech Product Consulting
RESULTS
What clarity and the right strategy can do
BloomTech
9×
Revenue growth driven by a full organizational transformation from service model to product company. Built new ways of working: a company-wide roadmap, cross-functional sub-teams and team captains to drive alignment. NPS from 25 to 63. Job placement from 30% to 90%.
DataCamp
350+
Transformed the learning ecosystem from a course library into a full product suite. Built hands-on projects, mobile-first practice tools and DataCamp Signal, the platform's first enterprise assessment product designed to measure workforce ROI. Expanded from 100 to 350+ courses while reducing team size by 75%.
App Academy
2×
Recruited to lead a full business turnaround with a single declining revenue stream and limited runway. Started with a rapid diagnostic across product, go-to-market, team, and capital before touching anything. Restructured the entire organization around three core goals, cut costs by 60% and rebuilt sales and marketing from talent to tooling. Diversified revenue through a strategic acquisition and a new AI upskilling product for existing alumni. Doubled enrollments and secured insider funding to extend runway.
“Mari redefined what BloomTech was. Turnarounds of that magnitude are often prevented by inertia and resistance to change. Mari is a highly effective forcing function for overcoming those — and will be a formidable ally to anyone facing daunting obstacles for a worthwhile cause.”
— Jerry Wang, Engineer & Executive · Ex-eBay, Google, Goldman Sachs
Let’s build something that matters.
I take on a limited number of clients each quarter. If you're not sure whether you're solving the right problem, that's exactly where we should start.