WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liaison International, a leading provider of admission management and related software solutions for the higher education industry, today announced that Jessica Finnefrock has joined Liaison as Senior Vice President of Product Development, a new position, effective July 15.
Ms. Finnefrock joins Liaison from Blackboard Inc., where she led product strategy, development and support teams for its Learn Products unit while also serving as a member of the company’s executive team during the period of Blackboard’s greatest growth.
Michael Behringer, Liaison’s CEO & President, said, “Jess has enormous experience in meeting the needs of education clients through innovative product strategy and development. In her 11 years at Blackboard, she rose from product manager to SVP, and was instrumental in launching new products and features, growing a team of over 200 staff members in locations across the globe, managing multiple product lines and acquisitions.”
He added, “We are very excited to have an executive of Jess’ caliber and experience join the Liaison team. She is truly an industry leader in product management within the higher ed space, and her mandate is to create a world-class product strategy and development group at Liaison.”
Ms. Finnefrock said, “This is a unique opportunity to join a transformative enterprise at an exciting time for our industry. Admissions officers are faced with a growing and complex set of priorities. They are looking for solutions to assist them with everything from improving their processes and maximizing their enrollment yield to demonstrating that their admissions practices comply with the Supreme Court’s decision in Fisher v University of Texas. Liaison’s admissions solutions provide universities with the most sophisticated data tools and analytics available today to help them address these pressing issues.”
She added, “Liaison’s software and service solutions are used by over 3,000 colleges and academic programs today. This intensely loyal customer base is excited and passionate about the company and its products. I am delighted to join a strong management team that is making growth investments in new product development and M&A to help service the industry.”
Liaison will open an office in Washington, DC this year that will anchor Ms. Finnefrock and members of the Product Development group. The group will include both existing Liaison staff as well as new senior hires.
Ms. Finnefrock holds a Master’s in History from George Mason University and a B.A. in History from The Johns Hopkins University. She began her career as a computer specialist with the National Digital Library of the Library of Congress, where she directed evolution of the Learning Page (a section of the American Memory website developed for K-12 teachers) to increase site traffic and effectiveness. She later worked in instructional design and content development at George Washington University’s course-based software company Prometheus until its acquisition in 2002 by Blackboard.
ABOUT LIAISON INTERNATIONAL
Since 1991, Liaison International has served as a provider of Centralized Application Services (CAS), Accreditation Management Systems (eAccreditation), Clinical Assessment solutions to associations, accrediting agencies, and their member higher educational institutions and programs. Our comprehensive software, services and data solutions remove administrative cost, improve analysis and coordination, and free resources to focus on the real business of admissions and accreditation. Liaison International is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, and is headquartered in Watertown, MA. For more information, visit http://www.liaison-intl.com.
