(April 4, 2022) — Cambium Learning® Group, a leading provider of award-winning education technology and services for PreK-12 markets, today announced that Chief Executive Officer and Chairman John Campbell will retire after more than 18 years of service to the Company, effective May 6, 2022. Chief Operating Officer Ashley Andersen Zantop will succeed Campbell as CEO and Chairman. Campbell will remain on Cambium’s Board of Directors.
During Campbell’s tenure as CEO over the past nine years, Cambium grew to serve more than 20M students in 94% of U.S. districts, and learners across more than 170 countries. Always focused on Cambium’s purpose of helping all teachers and students feel seen, valued, and supported, Cambium under Campbell now employs more than 2,300 professionals worldwide, experienced 5x bookings growth in the last five years, and expects to exceed $1B in bookings in 2022.
Andersen Zantop has over two decades of experience in leadership roles in media, technology, publishing and ecommerce for K-12 education, global consumers and nonprofits globally. She has served as COO at Cambium since 2020. In this role, she has overseen the Cambium Assessment and Lexia Learning business units. Prior to that, she served as Chief Operating Officer, Co-President and Chief Marketing Officer at GreaterGood, a cause-based commerce platform, digital publisher and registered fundraiser for nonprofit programs. Previously, Andersen Zantop served as Chief Content Officer for Capstone, a leading educational publisher for digital solutions, children’s books and literacy programs.
“I have been surrounded by many great people to whom I will forever be indebted for what they have taught me about making a difference in people’s lives,” said Campbell. “I am confident that Cambium is a dynamic, flourishing company that will only continue to grow its influence and impact. In Ashley, I know that Cambium now has the perfect leader to guide the Company through the next stage of growth. I look forward to continuing to support the Company’s future success as a Board member.”
“John is a rare leader, and I feel privileged to have worked alongside him – and learned from him – for the last 18 months,” said Andersen Zantop. “I step into the CEO role during a time of tremendous opportunity for Cambium and I look forward to working with all of my Cambium colleagues and our partners to continue addressing education’s most essential challenges.”
“It has been a pleasure to work with John and support Cambium’s transformation under his leadership. We are grateful for his years of service and wish him well in his retirement,” said Ramzi Musallam, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Veritas Capital, majority owner of Cambium. “Ashley is a seasoned executive and we are confident that Cambium is in extremely capable hands as she steers the Company in its next chapter of growth and impact.”
Ashley Andersen Zantop Biography
Prior to joining Cambium in 2020, Andersen Zantop served as Chief Operating Officer, Co-President and Chief Marketing Officer at GreaterGood, a cause-based commerce platform, digital publisher and registered fundraiser for nonprofit programs in education, healthcare, conservation and animal rescue. Previously, Andersen Zantop served as Chief Content Officer for Capstone, a leading publisher of children's books, media, audio, digital solutions and services, literacy programs and K-12 professional development resources for classrooms, school libraries and home. Before that, Andersen Zantop served as CEO, President and Publisher at Trudy Corporation, later Palm Publishing, responsible for the group's family of global children's imprints and media businesses.
Andersen Zantop serves on the government affairs council of SIIA and before that as chair of the board of directors and executive committee member for SIIA's Education Division and co-chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She is the co-founder and former co-president of the Fairfield University MFA Alumni Association and is the author of “Now What? The Creative Writer’s Guide to Success After the MFA.”
Andersen Zantop holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Michigan and teaching certifications for K-5 and 6-8. She also holds a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing from Fairfield University with concentrations in fiction and screenwriting and certificates in: media strategy from Harvard Business School; executive function in the classroom from the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and design thinking instruction from IDEO U.
About Cambium Learning Group
Cambium Learning® Group is the education essentials company, providing award-winning education technology and services for K-12 markets. With an intentionally curated portfolio of respected global brands, Cambium serves as a leader in the education space, helping millions of educators and students feel more universally seen, valued, and supported each and every day. In everything it does, the company focuses on the elements that are most essential to the success of education, delivering simpler, more certain solutions that make a meaningful difference right now.
To learn more, visit www.cambiumlearning.com or follow Cambium on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Medium. The Cambium family of brands includes: Cambium Assessment, Lexia® Learning, Learning A-Z®, Voyager Sopris Learning®, ExploreLearning®, Time4Learning®, and Kurzweil Education®.
About Veritas Capital
Veritas is a longstanding technology investor with a focus on companies operating at the intersection of technology and government. The firm invests in companies that provide critical products, software, and services, primarily technology and technology-enabled solutions, to government and commercial customers worldwide. Veritas seeks to create value by strategically transforming the companies in which it invests through organic and inorganic means.
Leveraging technology to make a positive impact across vitally important areas, such as healthcare, education, and national security, is core to Veritas. We are proud stewards of national assets, improving the quality of healthcare while reducing cost, advancing our educational system, and protecting our nation and allies. For more information, visit www.veritascapital.com.