AcademixDirect, a leading education marketing company (www.academixdirect.com), has announced the formation of a new management team, led by Chairman and CEO Marleen McDaniel, who joined the company in August of 2009. New management team members include Jeff West, Chief Financial Officer; John Adractas, Chief Operating Officer; and Satish Ramakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer.
“The formation of this accomplished management team represents AcademixDirect’s ability to provide the higher education market with the most advanced Internet technologies, complemented by highly customized customer service,” said McDaniel. “With influential economic and political forces at play, there has never been a greater time for adult learners to take advantage of higher education offerings. Our new management team and singular focus on institutions of higher learning will enable AcademixDirect to elevate the enrollment and retention process for the advantage of both schools and potential students.”
McDaniel brings a combination of education marketing experience and a wealth of innovative Internet experience. As Chairman and CEO of Women.com, she created one of the first pure play Internet companies of any kind where she developed the first sponsorship and advertising business proving a successful business model. When she worked for Sun Microsystems, she developed their education market division and championed the Sparcstation, Sun’s first $1 billion product. McDaniel has a history of serial entrepreneurship, having seven start-ups under her belt and having advised, coached and mentored dozens of others. She was educated at the University of California, Berkeley.
Jeff West serves as AcademixDirect’s Chief Financial Officer, leading the company’s accounting and finance operations. West previously led the finance functions at MySQL, the leading global open source database software provider. Under West's leadership from 2005-2008, the finance team built scalable systems and processes that supported 50+% compound annual growth and revenues soaring to $100MM, growing five times greater than finance team headcount. When MySQL was acquired by Sun Microsystems for $1 billion in February 2008, West led diligence efforts and ensured a successful integration of MySQL finance systems and staff. Prior to MySQL, West held finance executive positions at Omnicell Inc. and Redback Networks. West holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from San Jose State University.
John Adractas serves as Chief Operating Officer, leading daily operations. Most recently, John managed Google's Earth, Maps, and SketchUp teams within the Online Sales & Operations group from 2006-2008. Prior to Google, Adractas was a venture capitalist in early stage software with Voyager Capital. He was also a founding team member and held numerous roles at enterprise software start-up, Zeborg, and a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and Mitchell Madison Group. Adractas holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Satish Ramakrishnan brings more than 20 years of experience managing technology to his position as AcademixDirect’s Chief Technology Officer. Prior to joining AcademixDirect, he was the CTO of CoreObjects where, over a five-year period, he helped grow the company from 40 employees to nearly 500 and to establish it as the leader in new product development services by assisting in the launch of close to 40 companies and 75 products. He has also held executive positions at PointCast (AOL), KnowNow Inc., Good Technologies (Motorola) and Women.com (NBC Universal), as well as key positions at Wipro and BEA. Ramakrishnan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Mysore in India.
About AcademixDirect (www.academixdirect.com)
As the leading education marketing company focused entirely on higher education, AcademixDirect is a trusted partner creating tailored solutions for improving university enrollment. AcademixDirect strives to innovate better ways to connect college-bound students with the schools that will help them succeed. To that end, the company deploys advanced technology that incorporates a proprietary matching algorithm, fraud detection software, lead scoring and targeting capabilities, as well as a unique customer-centric approach to create value for both educational institutions and students.