(September 19, 2019, SAN FRANCISCO) -- Lambda School, the online school that gives students a path to a better career and higher income at no cost until they’re hired, announced significant expansion of its executive team today. The company appointed Namrata Ganatra as Chief Technology Officer, Matthew Wyndowe as Chief Business Officer, and Cecilia Ziniti as General Counsel. The three executives bring extensive experience and diversity of expertise to Lambda School in the midst of a major growth period in student enrollment, company headcount, hiring partnerships, and more.

“Lambda School is growing faster than we ever anticipated, and in order to achieve our mission at scale, we need the best on our executive leadership team,” said Austen Allred, Chief Executive Officer of Lambda School. “Namrata, Matthew, and Cecilia bring not only their experience growing successful companies, but also a personal passion for education. They, like everyone at Lambda School, are deeply committed to seeing our students succeed and they will be a critical part of our next chapter of growth.” 

Ganatra joins as Lambda School’s Chief Technology Officer after a career leading engineering and product teams at several industry-leading companies including Coinbase, PayPal, Facebook, and Microsoft, among others. Ganatra is also the founder of the Ashia Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to educate and empower women of all ages, races, and religions. At Lambda School, Ganatra will lead the company’s technology and engineering efforts to build the technology to scale for the growth we are seeing in the current markets while supporting expansion into new regions.

“I believe in the power of education. When I earned my computer science degree in India, I had to line up 10 different scholarships every year to afford tuition. I have lived through the fear of losing access to education every day due to my financial struggles to be able to afford tuition. I know firsthand the challenges many students are up against when it comes to access,” said Ganatra, Chief Technology Officer at Lambda School. “I am proud to join a team focused on helping students – regardless of their circumstances – gain an education that can change the trajectory of their entire career.”

Wyndowe, Lambda School’s new Chief Business Officer, brings years of business development, platform and product experience from companies including Uber and Facebook. Wyndowe is also the founder of Graph Ventures, which has made seed-stage investments in over 150 leading technology companies. At Lambda School, he’s focused on driving partnerships with leading employers, software ecosystems, and public and private organizations to support student outcomes, hiring partner success, and learning effectiveness.

“I was drawn to Lambda School due to its singular combination of once-in-a-decade societal impact and massive business growth potential,” said Wyndowe, Lambda School Chief Business Officer. “Traditionally, the advice to students has always been to get an education if you want to improve your lot in life. Unfortunately, that societal pact no longer holds true for many people who enter post-secondary education with hope, but leave burdened by debt and lacking the skills to access high-quality modern jobs. I’ve seen what it takes to have a transformational impact on an industry, and I believe Lambda School represents a fundamentally more aligned, efficient and effective model for the future of education.”

Ziniti joins Lambda School as its General Counsel after more than a decade of establishing trust in emerging technology brands. Ziniti was the first full-time lawyer on Amazon’s Alexa and Echo products, and saw the product from alpha through hypergrowth. Most recently, she led product legal and regulatory efforts at the self-driving car technology company, Cruise. She brings years of expertise in building consumer and partner trust to advance some of the most transformative businesses and technologies of our time at scale. 

“Education is a sector in which trust is essential. Lambda’s School’s continued growth requires that we continue putting students first, and obsess about generating great outcomes for them. I was drawn to the opportunity to support that mission,” said Ziniti, General Counsel at Lambda School. “I come from a family of educators, and I believe strongly in the transformative impact of investing in yourself through learning. I’ve had the privilege of being on the legal side of building paradigm-shifting ideas. Lambda School’s vision represents a rare opportunity to have a tangible impact on the future of education.” 

This leadership expansion comes at a moment of massive growth for Lambda School across student enrollment, company headcount, and partnerships. Since launch in 2017, the company has grown to more than 130 employees, nearly 3,000 concurrently enrolled students, and 10 part-time and full-time courses.

About Lambda School 

Lambda School is a live, skills-based online school that gives people a path to a better career and higher income at no cost until they are hired. Lambda School’s Income Share Agreement model eliminates the risk of education by aligning the incentives of the school and the students. Throughout Lambda School’s immersive programs, students work closely with world-class instructors and a network of peers via live, interactive online courses, offered either full-time (nine months) or part-time (18 months). Current courses include Full-Stack Web, iOS Development, Android Development, Data Science, and UX Design. Lambda School is backed by top investors. Learn more at www.lambdaschool.com.

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Published September 19, 2019