Ashley Mathis

I think I have a very, very, very strong growth mindset. I feel like I'm always growing and learning, so I think that is important. I tend to be a very servant-oriented leader. I'm in the talent business 100%, and so I think it's about building great teams, building great cultures, being very clear about expectations, and providing my teams with the support to be successful. And so, it is as much culture as it is strategy for me, but really, I think if I had one superpower, it is talent, for sure. I'm also very data-driven and very agile. I think those two things in a fast-paced growth market are really critical. And listening to customers and listening to those that work with customers, I think having that voice of the customer really does influence a lot of my decisions.

I think two things. One, early on in my career, I was encouraged to always think about my pipeline of talent, and I am constantly assessing the strength of my team, and thinking about do I have the right people in the right roles? Are they set up for success? And if not, how do I plan such that it's not going to be a problem longer term. So I'm really constantly thinking about talent. The other thing is I've been encouraged to take on roles that perhaps I wasn't ready for and didn't have all of the experience to do. But I always approached it with here's what I do know, here's what I am confident in, and here's where I need help, and truly asking my mentors for that help to help me get there. I've had executive coaches, mentors, and I've really leaned on my mentors to help provide me the guidance or direction or help that I need to be able to be successful.

Right now, we have been facing a lot of headwinds in the public school district market, most notably funding-related, and just some of the challenges as a result of some of the changes that have been coming at the federal level. And so it's really changed the game for those of us that work directly with school districts. Their budgets have declined, enrollment has declined, and a lot of the power has shifted from federal to state, which means that 50 state go-to-market need that I explained is exacerbated, because the states really are in control, as opposed to previously, the federal government, the U.S. Department of Education, had more say in what some of the priorities were and how those priorities were being funded. And all of that has really shifted to the states. From an opportunity perspective, I work in the literacy space, and especially post-COVID, reading scores have been consistently down, and so there's a real need for quality literacy solutions in this country to support students' ability to read, to learn to read, and to read to learn. And so, we take that very seriously. From an opportunity perspective, the products that we sell and the services that we offer couldn't be more relevant.

I'd say integrity, setting very clear expectations, and accountability. Transparency. I'd say those are kind of the main values, and again, I think having a growth mindset is incredibly important. I'm very data-driven and very agile. I think those two things in a fast-paced growth market are really critical. And listening to customers and listening to those that work with customers, I think having that voice of the customer really does influence a lot of my decisions.