InStride named a 2023 Most Innovative Company by Fast Company

Jonathan Lau

Chief Operating Officer

“Investing in the skills of your employees is an investment in the future of your business.”
About Jonathan
Chief Operating Officer

Jonathan Lau is a catalyst who thrives in building purposeful and sustainable organizations honed through years of experience at leading technology, education, consulting and investment firms.

Jonathan brings years of experience at leading technology, education, consulting and investment firms, along with a passion for building purposeful and sustainable organizations.

Jonathan is the Chief Operating Officer of InStride, the Strategic Enterprise Education™ partner of choice for businesses creating sustainable advantage and social impact through the continuous growth of their people. Jonathan is responsible for end-to-end learner success —helping learners make informed decisions that advance their career aspirations by delivering effective products, services, and technology.

Prior to InStride, Jonathan was SVP and General Manager of Skills at Cengage, the leading education and technology company built for learners. In this role, Jonathan led Cengage’s business group focused on helping learners build and enhance their careers by providing them with educational solutions in computing, technology, trades, healthcare and beauty spanning higher education, K-12, consumer and business channels. Prior to managing the Skills group, Jonathan oversaw Cengage’s Product & Strategy Operations team where he led the shift to focus on the learner, driving the transformation from print to digital.

Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Technology, Media and Telecom investments at Temasek, a $200B investment firm, where he invested and managed over 20 companies totaling $1.4B in investments. Before joining Temasek, Jonathan led a team of consultants at McKinsey & Company advising companies in the technology, media and telecom space. He also served in multiple product management and planning roles at Microsoft.

Jonathan holds a master’s and bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Investing in the skills of your employees is an investment in the future of your business.”

Featured in

A smoother path to jobs

April 2022

Disrupt Education podcast, Ep. 220 – Connecting Employers and Employees with Education

April 2022

Measuring the Success of Workforce Education Programs

Jonathan Lau
March 2022

Six Ways Strategic Workforce Education Can Boost A Company’s Bottom Line

Jonathan Lau
May 2021

TJ interviews: InStride’s Jonathan Lau

Jon Kennard
January 2021

LA’s Thriving Edtech Startups Improve Remote Learning for Schools, Businesses

Coco Huang
September 2020

This Week In Higher Education: Michelle Westfort and Jonathan Lau

Terri Givens
May 2020

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