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The People Leading Our Mission

Leadership

Meet those striving that realize our vision from development to delivery.

Manoj Kulkarni, Chief Executive Officer at Realizeit

Manoj Kulkarni

Chief Executive Officer

Manoj Kulkarni, Chief Executive Officer at Realizeit

Manoj Kulkarni

Chief Executive Officer

Manoj leads all aspects of Realizeit’s commercial development, growth agenda and operations globally.

Manoj has held senior executive roles for more than 20 years providing transformational leadership in high volume, high growth and global businesses in Education, Technology and Retail sectors.

He is the former Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for Career Education Corporation, where he and his team pioneered the implementation of AI-based personalized learning across large-scale ground and online institutions powered by Realizeit technology. His work at Career Education has resulted in numerous awards and accolades for EdTech innovation from Information Week, Computerworld, and others.

Prior to Career Education Corporation, he served as the Vice President of Information Technology for Toys R Us Inc., leading technology operations and engineering in the US and internationally.

Manoj earned his Bachelor in Engineering from India’s College of Engineering, Pune and his Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

John Keane, Chief Architect & Technology Officer at Realizeit

John Keane

Chief Architect & Technology Officer

John Keane, Chief Architect & Technology Officer at Realizeit

John Keane

Chief Architect & Technology Officer

John co-founded Realizeit in 2007 to create a new generation of learning technology that would help people to realize their full potential, by bringing to life techniques that are inspired and backed by research in a modern software system.

As CTO and Chief Architect, John has directed all Research and Development strategy at Realizeit since its inception. He is responsible for the overall architecture and design of Realizeit at both a conceptual and technical level.

John has over 25 years of experience leading innovation and change within educational technology. His last company, CCM Software, which was acquired by a FTSE 100 global enterprise in 2002, developed enterprise-grade management information systems and scheduling systems that were used globally - from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and London School of Economics, to universities and colleges in Asia and Europe.

A computer scientist at heart, John has been creating software to solve complex problems since he was quite young. He sold his first commercial software application at just 12 years of age. John received his formal education at Queen’s University of Belfast, winning every available prize throughout his time there, and achieved the highest Computer Science degree standard QUB had ever awarded.

Ty Roberts, Chief Sales, Marketing & Strategy Officer at Realizeit

Ty Roberts

Chief Sales, Marketing & Strategy Officer

Ty Roberts, Chief Sales, Marketing & Strategy Officer at Realizeit

Ty Roberts

Chief Sales, Marketing & Strategy Officer

Ty is responsible for sales, marketing and strategy including partnerships and alliances.

Ty's passion for adult education began more than 15 years ago when he began leading the professional education group for DeVry, Inc. Subsequent leadership experiences in online operations and higher education with Career Education Corporation further cemented Ty's commitment to digital innovation. He has held leadership roles in business development, brand marketing, product management and general management domestically and internationally throughout his career. His foundation in technology and consumer services earlier in his career at Nortel, E&J Gallo and Pepsico taught him the importance of super-serving customers and delivering value for all stakeholders.

He earned his Masters of Management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his Bachelor of Science in Operations Research & Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University.

Frank Claffey, Chief Product Officer at Realizeit

Frank Claffey

Chief Product Officer

Frank Claffey, Chief Product Officer at Realizeit

Frank Claffey

Chief Product Officer

Frank is one of the Realizeit founders and he currently serves as the Chief Product Officer. He heads the company’s product management team and oversees quality assurance of the system, championing the educator and learner to bring innovative ideas to a finished product.

Frank is a serial entrepreneur, having previously co-founded CCM Software, which was acquired by a FTSE 100 global enterprise in 2002. A former high school teacher, Frank was an early innovator in the use of hybrid models of learning. He crafted personalized instruction for multitudes of students before personalized and adaptive online learning became a possibility.

Frank brought these valuable experiences to the educational software sector, exploiting creative design, critical analysis, and constructive development skills in building leading edge adaptive learning capabilities of Realizeit’s technology.

He has been central to consultancy in educational systems for such institutions as The London School of Economics and Singapore Polytechnic, as well as working with international ministries and departments of education.

Frank earned his multiple degrees in Mathematics, Economics and Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Prabhu Balashanmugam, Vice President - Client Success at Realizeit

Prabhu Balashanmugam

Vice President - Client Success

Prabhu Balashanmugam, Vice President - Client Success at Realizeit

Prabhu Balashanmugam

Vice President - Client Success

Prabhu leads Realizeit’s Client Success team. The Client Success team is responsible for managing customer accounts and engagements delivering solution design, development and implementation services and providing technical support for Realizeit’s platform.

Prior to joining Realizeit, Prabhu served in Product Management, Solutions Architecture and Consulting Services roles across the Higher Education, Corporate Training and Enterprise Software sectors. His professional experiences includes leadership roles at Career Education Corp. (now Perdoceo Education Corp.), ACT, LRN and Sun Microsystems (now Oracle).

Prabhu earned his Masters in Computer Science from Crescent Engineering College, University of Madras, India and Masters in Business Administration from University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.

Dr. George Mitchell, Chief Information Officer at Realizeit

Dr. George Mitchell

Chief Information Officer

Dr. George Mitchell, Chief Information Officer at Realizeit

Dr. George Mitchell

Chief Information Officer

George is responsible for directing research, technology, and security efforts at Realizeit, as well as daily operations.

Prior to joining Realizeit, George served as a software research consultant for numerous well-known companies and institutions such as the European Commission, several European Governments, including the Federal German Government, as well as Ericsson, Eir (Irish Telecom), and Neusoft.

During his nine-year lecture circuit, George was a visiting International Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Evolutionary Computation, and Software Systems at Dalian University of Technology (China). He developed his award-winning lecture profile at the National University of Ireland.

George is a graduate of the Smurfit Business School (University College Dublin), having previously completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Computer Science, and PhD in Artificial Intelligence, followed by his postdoc in Evolving Complex Systems.

Danny Lynch, PhD, Principal Product Manager at Realizeit

Danny Lynch, PhD

Principal Product Manager

Danny Lynch, PhD, Principal Product Manager at Realizeit

Danny Lynch, PhD

Principal Product Manager

Danny is responsible for architecting and promoting enterprise-level product solutions that drive customer success. In this role, he develops an understanding of enterprise needs and processes so that he can collaborate with engineering and UX teams to turn ideas and requirements into product features, championing the customer at all times.

Danny joined the Realizeit Research team in 2012, bringing his passion for the application of learning science research and educational data analysis to impact real-world problems. He has published research papers and has actively contributed to the research behind the Realizeit platform. With the company's growth, Danny has transitioned to the Product team where his focus has turned to the operational use of the platform and direct liaison with customers. As a product expert, he consults with enterprises that have global workforces to bring Realizeit's corporate learning and training solutions to the market.

After receiving his B.Sc. from University College Cork, Danny earned his Ph.D in mathematics at University College Dublin as an Irish Government Scholarship winner. He has worked as a post-doctoral researcher and a lecturer at University College Dublin.

Colin Ryan PhD, B.Eng, Vice President - Engineering at Realizeit

Colin Ryan PhD, B.Eng

Vice President - Engineering

Colin Ryan PhD, B.Eng, Vice President - Engineering at Realizeit

Colin Ryan PhD, B.Eng

Vice President - Engineering

Colin joined Realizeit in the early stages of the company and leads Realizeit’s engineering activities. Working closely with the CTO, he directs software development and SaaS provisioning for the Realizeit platform.

As a core technical expert, Colin works alongside the Chief Architect on software architecture and development activities. Colin is the architect of Realizeit’s high-availability SaaS offering and consults with enterprise customers on integration solutions.

Colin has over 15 years of commercial experience leading the design, development, and delivery of various innovative technical products. Prior to joining Realizeit, Colin’s professional experience includes technical leadership in such industries as high-tech telecommunications and financial services.

Colin earned a Bachelor of Engineering and PhD from the University of Limerick, with his PhD research focused on highly reliable distributed systems.

Inese Hoover, Vice President - Marketing at Realizeit

Inese Hoover

Vice President - Marketing

Inese Hoover, Vice President - Marketing at Realizeit

Inese Hoover

Vice President - Marketing

Inese is responsible for Realizeit’s marketing strategies and go-to-market plans by sector that drive awareness, engagement, and adoption among target customers.

Inese is a seasoned Marketing leader with over 15 years of B2B digital marketing experience delivering creative marketing campaigns that drive lead generation and increased revenue. Prior to joining Realizeit, Inese served as the Director of Marketing at Magnus Health, a leading Student Health Record SaaS company servicing Education market, where she consistently developed and implemented high impact marketing plans fueling growth. Prior to Magnus, she managed digital marketing and communications for Altra Industrial Motion, Cree, and Patheon.

Inese earned her Bachelor of Science degree with focus on International Business and a Spanish minor from Millikin University in Decatur, IL.

T.J. Kuhny, Vice President - Marketing at Realizeit

T.J. Kuhny

Vice President - Marketing

T.J. Kuhny, Vice President - Marketing at Realizeit

T.J. Kuhny

Vice President - Marketing

T.J. is responsible for Realizeit’s product marketing strategy, including market research, product positioning and messaging, content development and sales enablement.

T.J. is a seasoned product leader in B2B SaaS organizations of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. In addition to product marketing, his breadth of experience includes product development, professional services, product management, sales, and strategic partner management. Prior to joining Realizeit, T.J. served as the Vice President of Product Marketing at Fusion Risk Management, a leader in business continuity and risk management software, where he developed the product marketing strategy resulting in continuous growth and ultimately in acquisition by a leading PE firm. T.J. has held leadership roles in successful startups resulting in IPO and acquisition, and in large companies including Accenture and Avaya.

T.J. earned a Master of Science degree in E-Commerce Technology from DePaul University in Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Quantitative Methods and Finance from University of Illinois.

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