NU Advisory Partners Recruits CEO for 2U
February 12, 2025 – NU Advisory Partners has assisted in the recruitment of Kees Bol as the new CEO of 2U in Arlington, VA. He succeeds Matt Norden, who has served as interim CEO since October 2024. “Congratulations Kees Bol on joining 2U as chief executive officer,” said Meredith Rosenberg, co-founder of NU Advisory. “With your deep industry and leadership expertise, we look forward to seeing you drive the organization’s continued growth and empower learners and institutions globally.”
“Kees Bol is a transformational leader who understands the power of education to change lives,” said Brian Napack, 2U’s executive chairman. “His deep industry knowledge and consistent record of building great education service organizations make him an excellent fit to lead 2U into its next phase. I’m looking forward to working with him to accelerate 2U’s evolution and innovation so we continue doing what we do best–enabling both institutions and learners to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
Mr. Bol brings over a decade of education industry experience, most recently as CEO of online learning services provider Boundless Learning. He brings to 2U a proven ability to lead high-performing teams, manage transformations, and drive business growth. For over four years, Mr. Bol led what is now Boundless Learning, first as part of Pearson and later as an independent company, overseeing its carveout and guiding its return to growth and profitability. Previously, he led marketing, enrollment, and retention for Pearson’s K-12 virtual school division. Before joining Pearson, he was chief marketing officer at Strategic Education, formerly Strayer Education, overseeing successful strategic initiatives to grow enrollment, enhance student success, and improve institutional performance.
Prior to that, Mr. Bol held senior roles in marketing and operations at Capital One, leading efforts to drive product innovation and growth, including operational strategy, process optimization, and the design of critical infrastructure, including online platforms. He began his career at McKinsey & Company, focusing on strategic planning and operational management.
“2U has an incredible opportunity to advance world-class education at a global scale,” said Mr. Bol. “For more than 15 years, 2U has worked hand in hand with leading universities and institutions to break down barriers to life-changing higher education. I’m inspired by the 2U team, the depth of its institutional partnerships, and, above all, our shared commitment to delivering broad access to education that drives real career outcomes. At a time when this mission has never been more critical, we’ll build on 2U’s market leadership to create more pathways to opportunity for learners around the world.”
2U is a global leader in education technology. Guided by its founding mission to increase access to higher education, 2U has spent over 15 years advancing the technology and innovation to deliver learning outcomes at scale. Through its global online learning platform edX, 2U connects more than 91 million people with thousands of affordable, career-aligned learning opportunities in partnership with 260 of the world’s leading universities, institutions, and industry experts.
In 2023, NU Advisory Partners was launched by former Russell Reynolds Associates recruiters Mar Hernandez, Libby Naumes, Meredith. Rosenberg, and Nada Usina. The firm is focused on senior executive, operating, and board positions.
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Ms. Hernandez specializes in placing corporate officers (CHRO, CFO, general counsel), and also supporting boards, financial services, fintech, telecommunications, and hospitality organizations in different talent needs. Prior to co-founding NU, she was a senior member of the corporate officers, DE&I, and financial services practice at Russell Reynolds Associates, where she was also the co-head of the Hispanic board initiative. Before her 12 years in the search industry, Ms. Hernandez held senior sales and marketing roles with firms such as Amicorp, Mphasis-EDS, and TTech.
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Ms. Naumes specializes in placing go-to-market and commercial roles across the sports, media, entertainment, technology, consumer, retail, and marketplace industries. Prior to co-founding NU, she spent 11 years building the consumer digital practice of Russell Reynolds Associates while also serving as the co-lead of the global sports practice. Ms. Naumes was previously the director of marketing and communications for NASDAQ’s Global Corporate Solutions Group.
Ms. Rosenberg is a market leading voice in the edTech sector. She brings more than 25 years of entrepreneurial and operating experience in the education sector. Prior to co-founding NU, she led the global edTech practice at Russell Reynolds Associates. She spent 10 years there working across the entire sector, advising larger public companies and VC and private equity portfolio companies, as well as nonprofits and higher education institutions. Previously, Ms. Rosenberg was a senior vice president at Fullbridge Inc., a workforce development and upskilling company, and helped to co-found Global Student Loan Corporation. She was a vice president at The Yankee Group, where she led the consumer communications practice, and a senior consultant in the telecommunications and media strategy practice of Braxton Associates/Deloitte Consulting.
Ms. Usina’s board, CEO and C-suite placement expertise spans technology, sports, media, entertainment, industrial, and numerous other industries. Prior to co-founding NU, she was a member of the executive committee of Russell Reynolds Associates, the global leader of its technology media, entertainment, and sports practices as well as a senior member of the CEO & board practice. Ms. Usina spent 13 years leading high-level executive searches and advising leading private equity and VC firms across their portfolio companies. She had an extensive career as an executive at digital media and software companies, including as a member of the senior team at Broadcast.com, as president of Nokia Canada, as president of Comcast Venture-backed XOS Technologies which she successfully sold to publicly held JumpTV and then merged the company with NeuLion where she remained as president. Earlier roles in sports included the Florida Sports Foundation, Atlanta Committee for the
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
