Matthew Serbin Pittinsky is Chairman of Blackboard Inc. As Blackboard's founding CEO and chief education strategist, Pittinsky has been a visible and widely respected leader helping to shape the higher education e-learning industry. With more than 2,300 schools, colleges, and universities in 140 countries using its software, Blackboard is one of the largest technology companies connecting the power of the Internet to education
Mr. Pittinsky has served on numerous panels and presented at industry conferences for organizations such as the Harvard Business School, the Software Publishers Association, and EDUCAUSE. A first time book editor, he has authored numerous articles and has been quoted in major media outlets, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek.
In 2001, Ernst & Young named Pittinsky and Blackboard co-founder Michael Chasen "Entrepreneurs of the Year for Emerging Companies" in Washington, D.C. In addition, they were both honored as "Young Innovators" by the Kilby Awards Foundation, a distinction shared by Vint Cerf, Marc Andreessen, and Linus Torvalds.
Mr. Pittinsky earned his masters degree in education policy at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He serves on the advisory boards of SMARTHINKING and Syllabus2000, and on the Board of Trustees of American University.