Pearson [FTSE: PSON.L], the world’s leading learning company, today announced the appointment of Tony Prentice as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and co-president of Direct to Consumer. Prentice will report to CEO Andy Bird overseeing the development of the company’s product strategies and roadmaps.
Prentice brings to the role more than 25 years of experience in consumer-led product management in companies, including American Express and Starbucks. He most recently served as Chief Product Officer at SEMA4, a patient-centered health intelligence company, spun out from the Mount Sinai Health System.
During his tenure, Prentice led SEMA4’s product strategy, development, user experience and design, and engineering to build and scale the business. This included building a large-scale platform that used machine learning and natural language processing to find and deliver patient insights.
Prior to Sema4, Prentice held various senior leadership roles at American Express, spanning product strategy, management, and marketing. While at American Express he led the development of the company’s mobile payments and consumer mobile products, including delivering Amex’s mobile app, Apple Pay and Android Pay. In addition, Prentice’s diverse consumer experience includes leading the creation of Starbucks’ warm food category, consulting at McKinsey, and engineering and sales roles at GE.
“Tony’s success in product development, consumer marketing and innovation have helped organizations get closer to their consumers and win market share,” said Andy Bird, Pearson CEO. “He joins Pearson at an exciting time as we push further into a strategy focused on lifelong learning, with the consumer at the heart of everything we do. Tony’s skills and experience will be critical to helping us execute on our product strategy and drive growth across the businesses.”
“I am delighted to be joining Pearson at a time when the company is bringing a critical focus onto the consumer,” said Prentice. “I am excited to help Pearson increase the scale and reach of their product offerings across the company and be the destination for great consumer learning experiences that truly can help people make progress in their lives.”
Prentice holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS from Cornell University in Mechanical Engineering. He has served as an AYSO Soccer coach and held voluntary roles at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the National Science Museum London. He will be based in New York City.
About Pearson
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to add life to a lifetime of learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. That’s why our c.20,000 Pearson employees are committed to creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. We are the world’s leading learning company, serving customers in c.200 countries with digital content, assessments, qualifications, and data. For us, learning isn’t just what we do. It’s who we are.
For more information visit us at pearsonplc.com and connect with Pearson on Twitter and LinkedIn.
