BETHESDA, Md. — UMGC Ventures, a nonprofit supporting organization of University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), today announced the appointment of David Cumberbatch as its new CEO. With two decades of executive leadership experience, Cumberbatch is a trailblazer in emerging edtech, alternative workforce preparation, AI-enabled operating models, next generation learning solutions, and emerging education business models.
Since 2021, Cumberbatch has served as the Senior Advisor for K-12 Solutions at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where his focus has been on helping to scale and commercialize education technology solutions for underserved students. Prior to this, he was the Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President at Stride, Inc. (formerly K12, Inc.) where he led corporate development efforts in supplemental solutions and renewed the company’s focus on career readiness and helping students earn career credentials from high school. Prior to Stride, Cumberbatch launched the Corporate Ventures function at ACT, a leading college and career assessment non-profit, and pioneered Adaptive Learning at Perdoceo (formerly Career Education Corporation), an online post-secondary company. Cumberbatch is also a Senior Advisor to Riiid Inc., an emerging leader in educational AI, New Apprenticeship, a startup focused on expanding apprenticeships in the US, and New Markets Venture Partners, a leading education technology venture fund in Maryland. Cumberbatch is also a founding board member of Undaunted Futures, a non-profit created to help mentor underserved youth in the DMV metro area.
“From our first meeting, it was clear that David is a dynamic leader driven by strong principles, a focus on innovation, and creating personalized education solutions that help all students succeed,” commented UMGC Ventures Board of Directors Chair, William R. Roberts. “His experience, leadership style, and career-long focus on improving access and learner outcomes through the use of technology are exactly what UMGC Ventures needs to take our strategic vision to the next level.”
“At UMGC, our mission is to meet today’s student where they are and ensure that access to postsecondary education is available to all who seek it,” said UMGC President, Gregory Fowler. “Having such a strong leader at the helm of the organization that supports our ability to advance innovation in higher education and help make this vision a reality is tantamount to our collective success.”
“Coming to UMGC Ventures feels like the perfect culmination of my career,” said Cumberbatch. “This organization was built on a commitment to removing barriers to education, keeping non-traditional post-secondary students engaged, and providing real, equitable value that translates into job-readiness and workplace skills with lower student debt. I am very proud to join this team of professionals who are shaping the future of higher education at this exciting time of accelerated innovation and transformation.”
Cumberbatch has held various leadership positions with organizations including ECS Learning Systems, Procter & Gamble, and Microsoft, where his business development work under Jeff Raikes was featured in Fortune magazine and contributed to the robust, expanded Microsoft Office experience we know today. He is a first-generation college graduate and holds a BA in Computing and Economics from the University of Kent at Canterbury as well as a MPhil in Management Studies from the University of Oxford, where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.
UMGC Ventures is an innovative business model for higher education that funds, develops and launches new innovative ventures that help higher education institutions compete more effectively in an era of rapid change. UMGC Ventures is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) supporting organization created by University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) to help build the university’s endowment to maintain the affordability of a high quality UMGC education for adult learners in Maryland and around the world. To learn more about UMGC Ventures, visit umgcventures.org.
University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) was founded more than 75 years ago specifically to serve the higher education needs of working adults and military servicemembers. Today, UMGC is the largest provider of postsecondary education in Maryland and continues its global tradition with online and hybrid courses, more than 175 classroom and service locations worldwide, and more than 125 degrees and certificates backed by the reputation of a state university and the University System of Maryland. For more information, visit umgc.edu.