Eric Loeffel, Chief Executive Officer
Eric Loeffel has led CompassLearning since 2005. During that time, the company achieved a major turnaround and became recognized as the leading U.S. provider of K-12 educational software, winning the 2008 and 2009 EDDIE awards and the 2009 BESSIE award. He led CompassLearning’s relocation to Austin, Texas, in 2006, and most recently led it through its change of control to Marlin Equity Partners from Readers Digest Association. Prior to joining CompassLearning, Mr. Loeffel was President and CEO of Isochron Data Corp., a venture capital-backed software company in Austin, Texas. He enjoyed similar success as the President and CEO of OnQ Technology, Inc., a private international semiconductor services company. Prior to that, Mr. Loeffel held various positions at Intuit, the makers of TurboTax, Quicken, and QuickBooks. Mr. Loeffel earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from San Diego State University and an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
Ann Henson, Vice President of Curriculum & Instruction
Ann Henson oversees the development of curriculum and instruction materials for all CompassLearning courseware and assessment solutions. Ms. Henson offers a wealth of curriculum and instruction knowledge developed throughout her 23 year tenure at CompassLearning and her prior experience in public education. At CompassLearning, she has worked in the area of professional development as an education consultant, supported sales activities as a senior curriculum and instruction specialist, and managed and worked a sales territory as an account executive. As vice president of sales operations, she led a sales support team responsible for pre-sales support activities, development of sales tools, and sales training, and served as primary liaison for sales to other departments within CompassLearning. Prior to joining CompassLearning, Ms. Henson was a high school math and computer science teacher and worked at a district level on curriculum development. Her final role in public education was director of instructional technology for a K12 school district where she not only was responsible for a district-wide technology plan but also experienced CompassLearning from a customer viewpoint. Ms. Henson holds a bachelor's degree in secondary mathematics education from Oklahoma State University and has completed graduate work in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on elementary mathematics.
Frank Ginac, Vice President of Development
Frank Ginac heads all product development for CompassLearning. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Ginac was the executive vice president of products and services at Scalable Software. In this position he provided executive-level leadership to the product development, customer support, professional services, and IT teams. Additionally, Mr. Ginac has held executive-level product development positions at a number of companies, including PMO Corporation, 2VOX, Broadjump, and Dazel. Mr. Ginac is a published author and holds a BS in computer science from Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Julie Liming, Director of Human Resources
Julie Liming brings to the CompassLearning team over ten years of experience in employee relations, benefit and compensation administration, staffing, training, and project management. Prior to arriving at CompassLearning, Ms. Liming spent six years in human resources at Applied Materials Inc. in Austin, where she rose through the ranks to ultimately become HR Programs Manager. There, she served as an HR Business Partner, consultant, and employee advocate, coordinating organizational and performance policies for more than 450 employees. Prior to that, Ms. Liming served as an employee relations supervisor and as HR supervisor for TRC Staffing Inc. and Houston’s USG Corporation. Ms. Liming holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Tech University.
Mark Hammer, Vice President of Marketing
Mark Hammer has over 20 years of experience in education and software marketing and currently oversees all marketing initiatives at CompassLearning. A former educator, Mr. Hammer taught English at Antonian College Preparatory School in San Antonio and at Oklahoma State University. He left the teaching profession in 1993 to work in the K-12 software industry, first as product manager at COMPanion Corporation and then as VP of marketing for Sagebrush Corporation. At Sagebrush Corporation, Mr. Hammer led the companys marketing and sales efforts to achieve unprecedented sales, including district-wide adoptions at Los Angeles Unified, Wake County (Raleigh, NC), and Fulton County (Atlanta, GA). In 1999, Mr. Hammer led the company's rebranding efforts after it consolidated Nichols Advanced Technologies, Winnebago Software, and other companies. Mr. Hammer has a BA in English and art history from the University of Kansas and an MA in English from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Rick Perez, Vice President of Sales
Rick Perez comes to CompassLearning with more than 25 years of expertise in the areas of sales, technology, and education. Most recently, Mr. Perez managed product sales, accounts, and proposal development as Vice President of Sales at Riverside Publishing. Prior to that, he was Vice President of the Western Region of CTB/McGraw-Hill and held senior level positions with Plato Learning & Lightspan and Apple. Mr. Perez also gained education experience as a teacher, principal, and superintendent in the Texas public school system. He holds a BS in physics and mathematics and an MA in Educational Administration from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas.
Robin Vandeveer, Vice President of Services
As Vice President of Services, Robin Vandeveer is responsible for Customer Support, Technical Services, and Service Renewals. During her 20-year tenure at CompassLearning, Ms. Vandeveer has worked with Customer Support, Dispatch and Installation Coordination, Professional Development, and Technical Services. She led the transition of CompassLearning’s Customer Service division from San Diego to Austin while ensuring the department maintained its exemplary service rating. Prior to her work here, Ms. Vandeveer held customer service, staffing management, and executive positions with May Department Stores in La Jolla, California. Ms. Vandeveer holds a BA in Business Administration from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.