Educational content, software and services company Cengage Learning has announced four strategic hires to support its future as a global leader in education. Additions to Cengage include Fernando Bleichmar, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer; Torsten Geers, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and M&A; Susan Aspey, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs; and Josef Blumenfeld, Senior Vice resident of Corporate Affairs.
Fernando Bleichmar, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, serving on the Executive Team and reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for the continuing evolution of Cengage Learning’s strategy. In addition, he oversees the company’s corporate development and competitive intelligence functions. Prior to joining Cengage Learning, Fernando served as Chief Operating Officer at Altisource Technology Services and as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Elsevier Health Sciences.
Torsten Geers, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and M&A, will lead the company’s corporate development activities, including mergers & acquisition, divestitures, alliances and other key strategic development initiatives. Torsten brings extensive relevant background in the global enterprise software and information services industries. He most recently served as COO of Kura MD, Inc., an emerging telemedicine technology company as well as Co-Founder of IPQ Analytics, LLC, a life sciences focused software analytics company.
Susan Aspey, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, will be responsible for developing strategies, programs, and partnerships that will enhance Cengage’s position as a thought leader in education and will support more effective communication with key stakeholders who are focused on improving education. Susan most recently held the position of Vice President, Media Relations for Pearson’s North American group.
Josef Blumenfeld, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, is responsible for all media relations and external communications and messaging for the company. Joe has more than 20 years of global media relations experience and he joins Cengage most recently from his position as Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications/Corporate Affairs at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) in Boston.
