Board of Directors

Ronald W. Hovsepian has served as the Executive Chair of the Board and Principal Executive Officer of Skillsoft Corp. since April 2024, and as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. He previously served as Executive Chairman of Software Luxembourg, the Skillsoft predecessor entity, from July 2018 until June 2021. Mr. Hovsepian has served as chairman of the board of directors of Ansys Corp., the global leader in engineering simulation, since 2014, and has served as a member of the board since 2012. Mr. Hovsepian has served as chairman of the board of Valo Health, a technology company in drug discovery, since June 2019. Previously, Mr. Hovsepian served as a director of Pegasystems Inc. from January 2019 until June 2021. Mr. Hovsepian also previously served as Chairman of ANN Inc., for ten years. From September 2020 until January 2024, Mr. Hovsepian served as Chief Executive Officer of Indigo Ag, an agricultural technology company. Mr. Hovsepian currently serves as an advisor to Indigo’s Chief Executive Officer and has served as a director since July 2019. Mr. Hovsepian has been an executive partner at Flagship Pioneering, Inc., a venture capital firm focused on healthcare, since October 2018. Mr. Hovsepian was President and Chief Executive Officer of Intralinks, a global provider of secure SaaS collaboration solutions and virtual data rooms, from 2011 to 2017, until it was acquired in 2017 by Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., a telecommunications software and services company. After the acquisition, Mr. Hovsepian served as chief executive officer of Synchronoss from January to April 2017. Prior to Intralinks, Mr. Hovsepian served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Novell, Inc., from 2005 to 2011, where he started as Executive Vice President and President, Worldwide Field Operations in 2003. Mr. Hovsepian began his career at IBM, where he held a number of management and executive positions over a 16-year period. Mr. Hovsepian holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College.

Helena B. Foulkes has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. She is currently the Executive Chair of the board of directors of Follett Higher Education Group and also serves as a member of the board of Harry’s, Inc. Ms. Foulkes previously served as the President of Harvard University’s Board of Overseers for the 2021-22 academic year. Ms. Foulkes is a seasoned retail executive and has served as the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), a multinational retailer, a position she held from February 2018 to March 2020, and as a member of the board of directors of Home Depot, Inc., a home improvement goods retailer, a position she held from September 2013 to October 2021. Prior to HBC, she served as Executive Vice President of CVS Health Corporation (CVS), an integrated pharmacy health care provider and retailer, and President of CVS Pharmacy, from January 2014 to January 2018. At CVS, Ms. Foulkes also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Health Care Strategy and Marketing Officer from 2011 to 2013; Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer from 2009 to 2011; Senior Vice President of Health Services of CVS Pharmacy from 2007 to 2009; Senior Vice President, Marketing and Operations Services during a portion of 2007; and Senior Vice President, Advertising and Marketing from 2002 to 2007. Additionally, Ms. Foulkes held positions in Strategic Planning, Visual Merchandising, and Category Management during her 20-plus years with CVS. Ms. Foulkes holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Lawrence C. Illg has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. He currently serves as an advisor to Prosus after holding a variety of executive positions for Prosus and Naspers from 2013 to 2023.  At Prosus, he led investments in food delivery, education, healthcare and more. He has more than 20 years of professional experience, more than a decade of experience leading global internet companies and currently serves on the board of several privately held Prosus portfolio companies, including Brainly, Inc. and Stenn, Inc. Mr. Illg served on the board of Honor Technology, Inc. until 2024.  Before joining Prosus and Naspers, Mr. Illg was Vice President and General Manager of New Ventures at Trulia, a leading U.S. online real estate marketplace. Prior to Trulia, he spent eight years as a senior executive at eBay, responsible for strategy and general management of many of its global marketplaces and classifieds assets. Prior to eBay, he spent several years as strategy advisor for leading global consumer goods companies. Mr. Illg started his career at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and holds a B.A. in Economics and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Michael S. Klein has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. He previously served as director for Churchill Capital Corp II, the predecessor listed company, since June 2019. Mr. Klein currently serves as Managing Partner of M. Klein and Company, a leading global financial and strategic advisory firm he founded in 2012 that provides its clients a variety of advice tailored to their objectives. Mr. Klein currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Churchill Capital Corp V, Churchill Capital Corp VI, and Churchill Capital Corp VII, which are all publicly-traded blank check company whose sponsors are an affiliate of M. Klein and Company, LLC. Mr. Klein also serves on the board of directors of Multiplan, Inc., an entity which merged with Churchill Capital Corp III in October 2020 and is now listed on the NYSE. Prior to the merger, he served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Churchill Capital Corp III. Mr. Klein is also a director of Magic Leap (a private company), TBG Europe NV (a private company) and AltC Acquisition Corp. (an NYSE listed company), and various charitable organizations. Previously, Mr. Klein served on the board of directors of Credit Suisse Group AG and Credit Suisse AG from 2018 until October 2022. He was also the co-founder and Chairman of Churchill Capital Corp, a blank check company formed in 2018. Churchill Capital Corp merged with Clarivate Analytics in May 2019, and Mr. Klein served on the board of directors of Clarivate Plc. until October 2020. Additionally, Mr. Klein previously served on the boards of Churchill Capital Corp IV and Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company, through July 2021 and September 2020, respectively. Mr. Klein is a strategic advisor to global companies, boards of directors, senior executives, governments, and institutional investors. Mr. Klein’s background in strategic advisory work was built during his 30-year career, including more than two decades at Citi and its predecessors, during which he initiated and executed strategic advisory transactions. He began his career as an investment banker in the M&A Advisory Group at Salomon Smith Barney and subsequently became Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Citi Markets and Banking, with responsibilities for global corporate and investment banking and Global Transaction Services across Citi. Mr. Klein is a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in finance and accounting.

Patrick Kolek has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021, and was the Chair of the Board from June 2021 to April 2024. Mr. Kolek joined Naspers in 2014 as Chief Financial Officer, ecommerce and from July 2016 until March 2023, he served as Group Chief Operating Officer of Naspers and Prosus N.V. After his years of service, Mr. Kolek continues to work with the Group Chief Executive Officer of Naspers and Prosus N.V. as a senior advisor and board representative. Mr. Kolek has more than 20 years’ experience in executing business growth and development strategies for hyper growth organizations. Prior to Naspers, Mr. Kolek spent ten years at eBay, most recently as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of eBay International and previously as the Chief Operating Officer of the eBay Classifieds Group. Prior to eBay, he worked for Novellus Systems from 1999 to 2004 as corporate controller, and he started his career within the corporate finance and audit divisions at Ernst & Young, where he worked from 1993 to 1999. Mr. Kolek currently serves as a director and Chief Executive Officer of Boats Group LLC and as deputy chair of the Supervisory Board at Delivery Hero, and he previously served on the board of Make My Trip. Mr. Kolek holds a B.S. in Commerce from Santa Clara University and is a certified public accountant.

Karen G. Mills has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. She served as director for Churchill Capital Corp II, Skillsoft’s predecessor listed company, since June 2019. Ms. Mills also serves on the boards of directors of Churchill Capital Corp V, Churchill Capital Corp VI, and Churchill Capital Corp VII. She was previously a Director of Clarivate Plc from May 2019 until January 2021 and Churchill Capital Corp III and IV through October 2020 and July 2021, respectively. Ms. Mills is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School since January 2014, focusing on economic policy, U.S. competitiveness, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Ms. Mills was a member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, serving as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from April 2009 to August 2013. Ms. Mills is the President of MMP Group since October 1993, which invests in financial services, consumer products, and technology-enabled solutions businesses. She also serves as a Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and is a member of the Harvard Corporation, the primary governing board of Harvard University. Ms. Mills holds an A.B. degree in Economics from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude, and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Peter Schmitt has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. He previously served as a director for Software Luxembourg, the Skillsoft predecessor entity, from August 2020 until June 2021. Dr. Schmitt has served as Industrial Advisor at EQT Partners AB since May 2018 and as President at MEC Advisors LLC since October 2017. Dr. Schmitt is on the advisory board of ThermoAnalytics, Inc., Blume Global, Inc. (an Apollo portfolio company), and MAIT GmbH and xSuite Group GmbH (both 3i portfolio companies). Dr. Schmitt served on the board of Innovyze LLC and Zemax LLC (both EQT Partners portfolio companies) and Upchain until all three companies were sold in 2021. Dr. Schmitt previously served as Senior Vice President of IoT & Digital Twin, Cenit AG from 2018 to 2019. Prior to Cenit, Dr. Schmitt served as Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Operational Marketing at ESI Group from 2015 to 2017, and Vice President at Dassault Systèmes from 2000 to 2015. Dr. Schmitt holds a Doctorate degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany and holds Diplom Ingenieur (equivalent to Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering) from Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany.

Lawrence H. Summers has served as a director of Skillsoft Corp. since June 2021. He has served as the Charles W. Eliot University Professor & President Emeritus of Harvard University since January 2011 and is the Weil Director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School. From January 2009 to December 2010, Dr. Summers served as Director of the White House National Economic Council in the Obama Administration and served as President of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006. Dr. Summers has served in various other senior policy positions, including as Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration and Chief Economist of the World Bank. Currently, Dr. Summers serves on the board of directors of Block, Inc. since June 2011 and Doma Holdings, Inc. since September 2019. He also serves on the board of ONE and chairs the board of the Center for Global Development. Dr. Summers is an advisor to The Hamilton Project, The Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and recently co-chaired the Commission on Inclusive Prosperity. He recently launched a Task Force on Fiscal Policy with Mayor Bloomberg and chaired the Commission on Global Health. Dr. Summers also served on the board of directors of LendingClub Corporation from 2012 to May 2018. Dr. Summers holds a B.S. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.