EXECUTIVE ADVISOR, LEARNING & WORKFORCE
Most executives come to me with a talent problem. I help them find the real one.
20 years building learning systems that scale. From early-stage startups to platforms serving 12 million learners worldwide.
MY STORY
Nearly 20 years of building what works
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.
"Most leaders are solving the wrong problem. The talent gap is usually a symptom."
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.
Where I've done the work
2026 — Present
Reach Pathways
Co-CEO
Building an AI-powered platform that helps young people, especially those left out of high-growth economies, find their pathway and develop the skills to get there.
2024 — 2025
Chief Executive Officer
App Academy
Led a full business turnaround. Started with a rapid diagnostic across product, go-to-market, team, and capital, then restructured around three core goals. Doubled enrollments, cut costs by 60%, and launched a new AI upskilling revenue stream.
2020 — 2023
Chief Product & Learning Officer
BloomTech (FKA Lambda School)
Led the transformation of a service organization into a product company. Rebuilt culture, structure, and ways of working from the ground up, including a company-wide roadmap, cross-functional teams, and new leadership infrastructure. Grew revenue 9x.
2018 — 2020
DataCamp
VP of Product & Learning
Transformed a course library into a product suite serving 12M+ learners across 180 countries. Built DataCamp Signal™, the platform's first tool designed to measure what learners could actually do, not just what they completed.
2014 — 2018
Voxy
VP of Product & Learning
Designed the B2B learning infrastructure that became the company's first enterprise revenue stream. $3M in year one, 90%+ retention, with clients including AT&T, Walmart, and Heineken.
2012 — 2014
Head of Instructional Design & Product Manager
EF Education First
Built and scaled instructional design systems for 15M users across 50+ countries. Designed the learner progress and performance tracking system that increased engagement by 35%.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Voices from the work
"Mari set herself apart by combining a business-oriented mindset, empathic leadership, and a remarkable results-driven approach."
— Martijn Theuwissen, Co-founder, DataCamp"Mari is an exceptional Chief Experience Officer who thrives as an operator, leader, and visionary. Her biggest superpower is her curiosity — you never have to guess what she thinks."
— Josh Knell, SchoolAI"Mari redefined what BloomTech was. She is a highly effective forcing function for overcoming inertia — a formidable ally to anyone facing daunting obstacles."
— Jerry Wang, Ex-eBay, Google, Goldman SachsEDUCATION
Academic foundation
Bachelor of Arts, Classics (Latin); Premed
Barnard College, Columbia University · New York, NY
Master of Arts, Spanish Linguistics
Middlebury College · Middlebury, VT & Madrid, Spain
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.