360Learning Appoints Benjamin Marchal as CEO, Founder Nick Hernandez to Chair the Board

Learning and Developmente-Learning, Training and DevelopmentNews

By Business Wire On Sep 18, 2024

360Learning, the world’s leading collaborative learning platform, is pleased to announce the appointment of Benjamin Marchal as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 1, 2025. Nick Hernandez, founder and current CEO, will remain Chair of the Board, closely involved in the company’s long-term vision and strategic direction.

Since joining 360Learning in 2019, Benjamin Marchal has been a key driver of the company’s rapid growth, partnering closely with Nick Hernandez to oversee key functions such as Product, Marketing, HR, Operations, and North American Revenue. As Benjamin’s role steadily expanded, he spearheaded the company’s successful expansion into North America, Germany, and the UK, and supported two major M&A transactions that delivered significant results. He also strengthened the leadership team, hiring key executives including Sidonie Viala (Chief People Officer), Chris Bondarenko (Chief Revenue Officer), and Gillian Core (Chief Customer Officer). These efforts have positioned 360Learning on a clear path to achieving cash-flow positivity by 2025.

The leadership transition between Nick Hernandez and Benjamin Marchal has been carefully prepared over the past several years, with full support from the board, leadership team, and the broader company. This planned transition reflects the company’s commitment to stability, continuity, and upskilling from within as it embarks on this new chapter.

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Looking ahead, the team, under Benjamin’s direction, is focused on achieving global leadership by delivering groundbreaking innovations that empower companies to upskill at unparalleled speed through collaborative learning, AI, and skills development. Key financial milestones include achieving cash-flow positivity by 2025 and reaching €100M ARR by 2027.

Nick Hernandez, founder and Chairman, commented:

“Leading 360Learning for the past 11 years has been a remarkable journey, and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve built. Benjamin has been instrumental in shaping our growth strategy, particularly in expanding into new markets and overseeing critical milestones. He has consistently demonstrated the leadership and strategic thinking needed to take 360Learning to new heights. I look forward to supporting him and the team as Chairman.”

Benjamin Marchal, incoming CEO, commented:

“I am excited to take on this new challenge and continue our mission of leading the global collaborative learning movement. Over the past six years, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Nick and our exceptional team to achieve remarkable milestones. As we look to the future, our focus remains on building a global leader based out of Europe, reaching cash-flow positivity in 2025, and scaling to €100M ARR over the next two years.”

Sanjeet Mitra & George Kadifa, board members from Sumeru Equity Partners, added:

“360Learning has continued to transform corporate learning and has grown meaningfully since our investment in 2021. It has been a sincere privilege to work with both Nick and Benjamin as they have fueled the company’s ongoing success. As COO, Benjamin has consistently demonstrated strategic insight, operational rigor, and strong leadership in scaling the company. With the strong foundation Benjamin & Nick have jointly built, the entire board is fully confident in Ben’s leadership as we enter this exciting next chapter. Congratulations to Benjamin & Nick on their new roles!”

Founded in 2013, 360Learning raised $240 million from investors including Sumeru, SoftBank, Silver Lake, XAnge, BPI, Hi Inov, and EduCapital, serving over 2,300 customers, including Cisco, Biogen, Kinaxis, and Toyota. With a strong focus on AI-powered skills development, 360Learning recently launched SkillsGPT and integrated eLamp (acquired in late 2023), empowering HR and L&D leaders to scale skills-based learning across their organizations.

Nick Hernandez – Founder and Chair

Nick Hernandez founded 360Learning in 2013 with a vision to revolutionize corporate training through collaborative learning. Under his leadership, 360Learning evolved from a startup to a global leader in EdTech, transforming the way organizations approach skills development and learning at scale. Nick has guided the company through multiple successful funding rounds and key M&A transactions. Based in Paris, Nick will continue to play a key role in M&A strategy, product development, and advising the board as Chairman.

Benjamin Marchal – Incoming CEO

Benjamin Marchal began his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he was struck by the surprising lack of emphasis on Learning & Development as a strategic lever in business transformation. Motivated to change this, he joined 360Learning in 2019, playing a key role in scaling the company from 100 to 400 employees and supporting the Series C funding round. Since 2023, he has overseen Product, Marketing, HR, and US Revenue. Based in Paris, Marchal is now set to lead 360Learning into its next phase of growth as CEO.

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