Symplicity is excited to introduce Matthew Small, our new President & CEO. With more than 20 years of higher ed experience, Matt comes to Symplicity from Blackboard Inc., where he held various leadership positions including Chief Business Officer and President, International.
At Blackboard, Matt had numerous responsibilities across the organization throughout the company’s history, including operations, marketing, HR, legal, business and corporate development, publisher relationships, mergers and acquisitions and, most recently, Blackboard International.
Matt also led several major company transactions during his tenure at Blackboard, including Blackboard’s initial public offering in 2004; several public equity and debt financings; the acquisition and integration of several education technology companies such as WebCT, Inc. (2006), Xythos Software (2007), The NTI Group, Inc. (2008), Angel Learning (2009), Terriblyclever Design LLC (2009), Elluminate (2010), Wimba (2010), Presidium Learning (2010), Moodlerooms (2011), Netspot (2011), Txttools (2011), Positivo Portal (2013), Remote Learner UK (2014), Nivel Siete (2015) and X-Ray Analytics (2015); and the sale of Blackboard Inc. to Providence Equity Partners in 2011.
Matt has a deep understanding of the EdTech market and an appreciation for how important the issue of employability has become domestically and abroad, along with the role technology can have to address the challenge.
“I am very excited to be joining this talented and dynamic team. As we lead this new chapter in Symplicity’s business, we look forward to learning and hearing from our extraordinary clients, users and stakeholders to understand how we can grow and improve the business together,” said Matt. “Connecting students with employers, bridging the skills gap and addressing the employment strategies of universities, agencies and employers is our passion. We look forward to partnering with our clients on these important goals.”
