John Kannapell has been named president and chief operating officer of Plano-based CYPHER Learning, a provider of a modern learning platform for business and academic settings.
Kannapell will report to CEO and Chief Technology Officer Graham Glass. He brings more than two decades of executive leadership and experience in vertical SaaS solutions and is adept at cultivating and expanding technology-driven partnerships and scaling technology-driven educational services toward profitable growth, CYPHER said.
Graham Glass, founder and CEO of CYPHER Learning.
“Over the past two years, we have built up our executive team with key hires in sales and marketing—bringing John on board reflects our continued momentum and is the critical next step in our growth journey,” Glass said in a statement.
He called Kannapell “the ideal addition to our executive management team” and touted his experience in the education and business SaaS markets, matching CYPHER’s customer focus.
“In addition, John’s ability to identify new market opportunities, develop creative solutions to adaptive challenges, build market entry strategies, recruit, and motivate talented teams, and launch and scale multi-million-dollar product portfolios is a perfect fit for CYPHER Learning’s global strategy,” Glass said.
Kannapell will oversee CYPHER Learning’s day-to-day operations and is charged with helping it expand and fulfill its mission to unleash human potential by helping teachers, trainers, and learning and development professionals create and deliver compelling, personalized content at scale.
Kannapell’s appointment enables the company to explore strategic avenues, such as market expansion and technological innovation, while ensuring efficient management of its daily operations, CYPHER said. CYPHER said it will also allow Glass more time to devote to fulfilling CYPHER Learning’s vision and exploring new technologies as the company continues to deliver innovative and AI-powered learning solutions to business and academic organizations.
Expertise in growth and innovation
A veteran executive, Kannapell has 25 years of experience in vertical SaaS solutions, specializing in the development, operation, and scaling of businesses from $10 million to $700 million.
As general manager at EverCommerce, Kannapell oversaw a global portfolio of software and payment solutions serving over 100,000 SMBs. He led the integration of 18 acquisitions, contributing $100 million in revenue, double-digit annual growth, EBITDA improvements, a successful IPO, and strategic divestitures, CYPHER said.
His tenure as vice president of strategic partnerships at Blackboard was marked by the creation and launch of new solutions, growing annual revenue from $0 to $25 million.
Kannapell launched new sales intelligence tools and go-to-market strategies and led sales teams to close enterprise partnerships with top educational institutions. CYPHER said his record showcases his ability to build high-performing teams, foster product innovation, and drive market expansion.
CYPHER Learning has expanded its business and launched its “market-leading AI-powered AI 360 with CYPHER Copilot” over the past year, and is viewed as a leader by “leading analysts, including Talented Learning and Fosway Group,” said Kannapell in a statement.
He is eager to work with the CEO and the executive team to “further accelerate the company’s growth and expand our leadership position as a modern learning platform in the global academia and business markets.”
CYPHER Learning has expanded its executive team over the past two years, hiring Jennifer Geisler and Matt Kane in late 2022 to oversee marketing and sales operations respectively, and raised a $40 million growth equity round from Invictus Growth Partners.
John DeLoche, Invictus co-founder and managing partner and member of CYPHER Learning’s board of directors, said in a statement that the company “continues its strong growth trajectory and mission to help enterprises and educational institutions transform learning and development.”
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CYPHER Learning was founded by Graham Glass, a former senior lecturer at UT Dallas who grew frustrated at the amount of time it took to create courses and longed to spend more time teaching. CYPHER Copilot aims to change that by helping teachers create engaging, gamified courses and assessments more quickly.
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