Meet the team

Founded by Wisconsin couple Judi and Terry Paul in 1986, we have been established in the UK since 1999. We have a presence in over 50,000 schools in more than 90 countries worldwide.

Our team strongly believes that everyone can be a successful learner, and it is our conviction that empowering teachers is integral to school success. We are a company founded by parents, upheld by educators, and enriched by scientists who all know that learning is a growth process: a continual journey from year to year and for a lifetime.

Leadership

Joan Mill

International Managing Director

Joan Mill, International Managing Director, has a wealth of Technology/SaaS and GTM experience. During the course of her career, she has focused on delivering innovative and transformative cloud and digital solutions for customers globally. She is dedicated to building high-performing teams and effective go-to-market strategies. Mill earned an MBA (Applied Finance) from Monaco Business School and a Law degree (LL.B) from Brunel University.

Sally Searby

Vice President for Global Markets

Sally Searby is a passionate believer that technology has the power to transform education, Sally has over 20 years of experience in Edtech, publishing and education in global markets. Prior to joining Renaissance as Vice President for Global Markets, Sally held Senior Leadership positions at Cambridge University Press, both in the UK and US, as well as at Edtech Start-Ups in New York. Sally has an M.B.A from Oxford Brookes University and is a mentor and advisor to early-stage Edtech start-ups.

James Bell

Director of Professional Services

James Bell, Director of Professional Services – International, has worked in the education sector for 21 years. His role includes working with schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, Charities, partners and Governments both in the UK and internationally. This includes carrying out research and developing and delivering implementation plans to ensure accurate assessment and acceleration of learning for both students and teachers by delivering high-quality professional development.

Jon Cooper

Customer Success Director

Jon Cooper joined the Customer Success Director role at Renaissance International in May 2022. Jon has many years of experience leading successful customer-facing teams across different industries with a strong track record of positively increasing Customer engagement and advocacy. Having built CS teams in the past, Jon knows the importance of a high-performing company having a robust Customer Success strategy at its heart.

Gerry Kelliher

Sales Director, UK and Ireland

Gerry Kelliher is an experienced sales leader with over 20 years of success driving and achieving business growth.

He joins Renaissance Learning from Kodak Alaris Ltd, where he has led their EMEA business for six years. During this time, Gerry transformed the sales team and GTM function to focus on solutions selling and customer value, achieving the #1 market position.

Gerry holds a B.Eng in Electronic Engineering from the University of Limerick, Ireland, and started his career as a software product manager delivering one of the first 3G mobile phones in the world. BlackBerry subsequently acquired this business, and Gerry went on to play a senior role in driving BlackBerry’s business in the UK and Europe over the subsequent 12 years.