lynda.com Furthers Strategic Momentum with New CFO
Elaine Kitagawa, Former Gaia Executive and Saba CFO, Joins Online Education Leader to Drive Company Growth
“Elaine’s track record and leadership in corporate finance, sales operations, business development and commerce innovation align strongly with our vision and outlook,” said Eric Robison, lynda.com president and CEO. “Adding Elaine to our executive team continues the expansion of our team with proven executives that bring experience and depth to lynda.com.”
Kitagawa joins lynda.com as the company continues to build global momentum in delivering its subscription-based library of video tutorials. There are currently more than two million people worldwide with access to its software, creative and business skills courses.
“lynda.com is continuing to deliver enormous impact in the world of skills development and self-directed learning,” said Kitagawa. “My experience guiding growth companies serves the lynda.com vision and business goals. I couldn’t be more thrilled to join this company at this time.”
Kitagawa comes to lynda.com from her CFO role at Saba Software Inc., a software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-learning and human resource management solutions provider. Prior to Saba, Kitagawa served as COO of global social gaming online community Gaia Online.
Her experience spans software, high-technology, and Internet companies, including online commerce and transaction innovator Ariba, where she served as vice president of corporate finance and investor relations. She has held financial and operational roles at Clarify Inc., the Dialog Corporation and 3Com Corporation, and began her career as a senior auditor at KPMG. Kitagawa, a CPA, holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Haas School of Business, at University of California, Berkeley.
“Bringing Elaine to the team at this time aligns perfectly with our growth outlook and financial progress,” said Lynda Weinman, lynda.com co-founder and executive chair. “As we continue to bring learning and personal advancement opportunities to people around the world, Elaine’s ability to build strong financial platforms and business innovations serves our member, author and employee communities. I look forward to her role in shaping our value as a company and industry leader.”
In addition to Kitagawa, lynda.com recently welcomed former PopCap chief technology officer and Adobe executive Frits Habermann to the executive team as its CTO.
About lynda.com
lynda.com is an online learning company that helps anyone learn software, creative and business skills to achieve their personal and professional goals. With a lynda.com subscription, members receive unlimited access to a vast library of high-quality, current and engaging video tutorials. New courses and topics are added every week at no extra cost. We carefully select the world’s top experts who are the best in their field, passionate about their subject matter and know how to teach. Members tell us that a lynda.com subscription instills self-confidence and unlocks a sense of accomplishment that they have not found anywhere else. With over two million individual, corporate, academic and government users, lynda.com was ranked the 13th fastest-growing, privately-held education company in the U.S. by Inc. Magazine.
