Executive Leadership

Chief Executive Officer

Michael E. Hansen became CEO of Cengage, a global education and technology company, in September of 2012. 

Under Mr. Hansen’s leadership, Cengage has transformed from a print publisher to a company which today is creating some of the most highly rated digital learning products and platforms. Cengage serves learners of all ages, building confidence and momentum, driving measurable success and workplace readiness. In FY 2016, digital unit sales outpaced print textbook sales, a significant milestone for Cengage.

Mr. Hansen has built a strong reputation for transforming businesses across many media and information sectors. Prior to joining Cengage, he served as CEO of Elsevier Health Sciences. During his tenure, he developed and implemented a successful print-to-digital transition and accelerated the development of new user-focused products. As President and CEO of Harcourt Assessment, Mr. Hansen turned an unprofitable testing business into a growing and highly profitable enterprise. Mr. Hansen has built a strong reputation for achieving results through a rapid strategic assessment, relentless focus on measurable execution, and a keen emphasis on cultural change which drives sustainability.

Earlier in his career Mr. Hansen served as Executive Vice President of Operational Excellence at Bertelsmann leading the portfolio transformation of this $20B global media company. Mr. Hansen spent the first 11 years of his career with the Boston Consulting Group in New York, ultimately becoming Partner and Co-Chairman of the e-Business and Media Practice.

Mr. Hansen is currently a Board Member of John’s Hopkins Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), and ProPublica. Mr. Hansen holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Bonn in Germany and an MBA from Columbia University in New York. He lives with his wife and three sons in New York City.

General Manager, Higher Education and Skills

Fernando Bleichmar is General Manager of U.S. Higher Education and Skills for Cengage. He is responsible for overseeing all functions supporting Cengage’s U.S. Higher Education and Skills business. In this role, Fernando leads a cross-functional team focused on delivering affordable quality learning for students, as well as driving the continued success of Cengage Unlimited – the industry’s first-of-its-kind subscription service for college textbooks and course materials.

Mr. Bleichmar has dedicated much of his career to helping organizations successfully overcome barriers and deliver superior products and services. He is especially passionate about education transformation, stemming from his early exposure working with his parents own higher education school in Mexico. He is committed to fundamentally improving the learning experience for faculty and students.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Bleichmar served as Chief Product Officer for Cengage, where he was responsible for Cengage product development and innovation. Mr. Bleichmar joined Cengage in 2014 as Chief Strategy Officer, spearheading the company’s approach to data-driven decision-making as well as new, student-centered business models. He also formerly served as Chief Operating Officer at Altisource Technology Services and as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Elsevier Health Sciences. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bleichmar worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where he specialized in information services and corporate development, and also served as COO and Advisor for Centro Eleia, a higher education institution in Mexico.

Mr. Bleichmar holds an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is based out of the Cengage Boston, MA office.

President of Cengage Global Businesses

Alexander Broich is the President of Cengage Global Businesses for Cengage, serving on the executive team and reporting to Michael Hansen, Chief Executive Officer. In this role, he is responsible for the growth and development of the company’s International Higher Ed, English Language Teaching, Library & Reference and U.S. K-12 businesses. Included in his portfolio are the world-renowned National Geographic Learning and Gale brands.

Mr. Broich brings to Cengage more than 20 years of corporate and operational senior-level management experience, specializing in building, growing and developing businesses in changing environments. He has a successful track record in setting up and growing new technology driven businesses, is skilled in strategic planning and marketing, and is familiar with intercultural business practices and communications.

Prior to joining Cengage, Mr. Broich served as the President of International at Pearson Clinical and Talent Assessment for five years. At Pearson, he drove the international business to double-digit growth, while significantly increasing profitability and expanding into new territories. He led the strategy development and implementation of the conversion from traditional print assessments into digital solutions, and was a member of Pearson’s Innovation Board.

Earlier in his career, Broich was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Bertelsmann, Inc. for six years where he implemented development strategies in China, England, Germany and France, among other duties. He also held management positions with Bertelsmann Online Ltd., Health Online Services Multimedica, Bertelsmann AG, and Headwork Consulting.

Mr. Broich holds a PhD in Business Administration from Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. He is based out of the Cengage Boston, MA office.

Chief Integration Officer

Rebecca McNamara is Chief Integration Officer for Cengage. She is responsible for leading all integration initiatives for the company’s planned merger with McGraw-Hill, which is expected to close in early 2020. In this role, Ms. McNamara oversees strategic planning and post-merger implementation, including leadership of the cross-functional team responsible for ensuring both cultural and organizational alignment across companies. As part of this, Ms. McNamara also leads the Cengage post-merger integration team in developing a clear path to an efficient, combined operating model starting on day one that strongly positions the combined entity to drive the benefits of greater scale to support student achievement.

Ms. McNamara is an experienced financial executive with deep knowledge and expertise in financial planning and analysis, investor relations, corporate development and team building. She has a proven track record in leading growth strategies, as well as complex operational cost savings initiatives and capital allocation strategies.

Ms. McNamara has been with Cengage for more than 15 years. Most recently, she served as Interim Chief Financial Officer, leading Cengage through a period of significant business transformation with the successful launch of Cengage Unlimited – the industry’s first-of-its-kind subscription for college textbooks and course materials. Prior to this role, McNamara held a number of senior finance roles within the organization, including Senior Vice President, Finance Planning & Analysis, as well as Vice President, Strategic Finance. Previously, she held positions at Thomson Reuters and TheStreet.com.

McNamara holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Lehigh University and an MBA, specializing in Finance and Economics, from Columbia Business School. She is based out of the Cengage Boston, MA office.

Chief Financial Officer

Bob Munro is Chief Financial Officer for Cengage. In this role, Mr. Munro is responsible for leading all parts of the company’s finance function, including financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, accounting and control, treasury, tax, internal audit and investor relations.

Mr. Munro is a highly respected financial executive with global experience in the education, financial services and healthcare sectors. Across the organizations he has served, Mr. Munro is reputed as a motivational leader who fosters a collaborative, engaging and strategic environment for his teams, while also positioning the finance function on the front lines as a critical business partner.

Prior to joining Cengage, Mr. Munro served as CFO at Callcredit Information Group, a credit reference agency and risk information solutions business, where he led the successful finance strategy for the sale of the PE-backed business to TransUnion in June 2018. Previously, Mr. Munro held numerous senior financial positions with RELX (formerly Reed Elsevier PLC) including CFO of Elsevier Health Sciences, Director of Business Performance, Director of Business Control and Group Chief Accountant. Bob began his professional career with Price Waterhouse, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Mr. Munro earned a degree in physics and microelectronics from the University of Essex. He is currently based out of the Cengage Boston, MA office.

Chief Technology Officer

George Moore is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Cengage. In this role, he is responsible for shaping Cengage’s long-term technology vision and driving innovation across the company during a transformative time.

As a member of Cengage's Executive Team, Mr. Moore reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer. In addition to his role as CTO, Mr. Moore serves as the Head of House in Cengage’s corporate headquarters. In this capacity, he leads all local employee engagement efforts.

With a passion for revolutionizing the education and publishing industries through the use of technology, Mr. Moore spearheads strategic partnerships and collaborations with faculty and students to drive a student-centric model of digital innovation. Driven by this focus on student success, Mr. Moore leads integrated teams of technology and education experts to work side-by-side to deliver cutting-edge digital innovations through technology platforms and tools.

Under Mr. Moore’s leadership, Cengage’s MindTap learning platform has emerged as the company’s flagship technology. Cengage now offers MindTap products for over 450 courses spanning the vast majority of disciplines. Cengage continues to add critical features to the MindTap platform in a disciplined, prioritized way allowing for significant course-level features and user personalization.

Prior to joining Cengage, Mr. Moore served as CTO of Elsevier Health Science, where he was recruited to transform the world’s leading medical publishing company into a medical information company. During his tenure, he was instrumental in developing ClinicalKey, one of the most innovative and successful product introductions in the health-care information industry.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Moore served as the SVP of Product Development for Thomson Reuter's Healthcare organization, where he led the consolidation effort of the company’s disparate acquisitions into a consolidated product development organization. Mr. Moore has also held various roles with a number of commercial software companies. Most prominently, he was VP of Product Development at Liquent, the industry leader in Pharmaceutical Publishing and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. At Liquent, he led the company’s efforts in defining how pharmaceutical companies would develop their information management systems that support drug discovery and approval, and also played a leading role in the sale and integration of Liquent into Thomson Reuters.

Chief Legal Officer

Laura Stevens is the Chief Legal Officer for Cengage; she is responsible for providing legal support for Cengage's business operations, including Cengage's Global Product and Technology groups, Sales and Marketing, and Finance, as well as its Global Anti-Piracy program and Intellectual Property Acquisitions and Granting functions. Additionally, her team provides legal advice, contract negotiation support, dispute management and legal operational support for Cengage's content licensing and acquisition activities.

Laura believes that transparency is essential for collaboration, so with this in mind, she realigned the Legal team, forming deep synergies and equipping the group to take on the challenges of an evolving business. This forward-thinking approach helped enable the launch of Cengage Unlimited and propel the company’s rapid print-to-digital transformation. Laura also founded Cengage’s privacy office, creating industry-leading preparation and standards for responsible data stewardship.

Laura joined Thomson Learning—now Cengage, in 2003—as Publishing Counsel; she has held multiple positions within the Legal division, including Assistant General Counsel and Senior Vice President. Prior to this, Laura was an attorney at Brown Raysman in New York City.

Outside of work, Laura is often seen donning ear buds as she listens to one of her many favorite podcasts. Having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of Rochester—along with a degree in political science and subsequently a J.D. from Columbia Law School—Laura is still an avid art lover and can be found on weekends frequenting art museums around Boston with her husband and two children.