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I’ve wanted to expand my new “Featured Gig” series on opportunities at the intersection of learning, technology and organizational change to jobs outside of universities. When I read on LinkedIn that Nathan Greeno, SVP of global business development at 2U, is recruiting for a new VP of business development, I thought the role would be a good fit for the series.
My criteria for including jobs in this series is that the role has to be one that I’d recommend to my academic/learning innovation network. If you are looking to fill such a job, please get in touch.
Q: What is the company’s mandate behind this role? How does it help align with and advance the company’s strategic priorities?
A: This role is unique. It requires the successful candidate to be more of a builder rather than a traditional seller. I often say we aren’t like a traditional vendor selling a single service: We are providing a broad set of services and building long-term partnerships with our clients. That requires trust building, complex partner interactions, a keen understanding of not only the higher education landscape but also the complexities of higher education governance, internal and external, and the ability to win the hearts and minds of the academic community.
2U’s mandate for this role is to build new, long-term, sustainable partnerships with universities that are mutually beneficial. This means fostering an exchange of value that supports both financial sustainability and mission-driven goals for all parties. These partnerships must generate positive results for 2U and our university partners and positive outcomes for their learners, enabling the furtherance of respective goals. Understanding the university’s mission from the beginning and demonstrating 2U’s value early on is essential to achieving these shared goals.
Q: Where does the role sit in the company’s structure? How will the person in this role engage with other units and leaders across the organization?
A: A vice president of business development reports directly to me and is part of a small group of dedicated individuals with the same charter. Currently, we are a part of the degree program segment of 2U, where I sit on our president’s leadership team. However, we are often called upon to assist with our alternative credential segment.
As we often say, “It is team ball,” and we really don’t need or want solo actors. In order to get the job done, this person will need to interact with leaders across the company, each of which acts like a subject matter expert. For example, our product marketing team drives opportunity assessment, our marketing team determines program projections, our finance team creates pro formas, our learning team works with academics on programmatic strategy, our legal team drives the contracting process, our implementation teams come on board to successfully launch programs and—ultimately—our general managers and program directors shepherd the relationship over the long term.
For the person who takes this role to be successful, navigating a large organization and developing deep internal relationships makes all the difference. This person has to know that when you place a call for an internal subject matter expert, someone will pick up the phone and come to work with you at a moment’s notice. At 2U, we have those types of internal champions with whom I’m very proud to work.
Q: What would success look like in one year? Three years? Beyond?
A: These are long and complex deal cycles, often 12 to 18 months or longer. The initial few months of a successful candidate’s journey will include developing an understanding of 2U and shadowing others while beginning to develop their own university relationships.
We tend to live in the future. Currently, we are finishing up our slate of partnerships that we expect will launch in 2025. My expectation is that this individual will be able to positively contribute to new partnerships, most of which will be revenue-share relationships, that will launch in 2026.
Once fully up and running—think year two on the job—this person should be able to develop eight to 10 new partnerships each year that launch in the following year.
Q: What kinds of future roles would someone who took this position be prepared for?
A: This is an individual contributor role. Having said that, due to the complexities of our partnerships and the broad exposure to all levels within both higher education and across 2U, this person would be well positioned to work inside of higher education in leadership roles such as innovation and strategy, within accreditor agencies or government departments of education and within the broader education technology sector in a leadership capacity.
