Ellucian, the leading provider of software and services built to power higher education, today announced that Matt Thompson has joined the company's Board of Directors. Thompson was most recently the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations at Adobe, overseeing global sales, partnerships, ecommerce, consulting and services, and customer success operations.

"Matt's impressive leadership experience, particularly in growing Adobe's higher education portfolio to more than $1B, aligns with our business and growth strategy. His knowledge will be extremely valuable to Ellucian and our customers worldwide, as we accelerate the digital transformation of higher education in the cloud. We are excited to welcome him to the Board," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian.

"As the future of higher education continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Ellucian's market-leading cloud-based solutions provide a roadmap for the leading higher ed institutions around the world," said Thompson. "With deep experience and strong relationships, Ellucian serves as a true partner to institutions delivering value and support at a time when they need it the most."

Thompson joined Adobe in 2007 and during his tenure he led the growth of the company from $2 billion in sales to now over $12 billion, scaling the field organization to over 10,000 people. His leadership was instrumental in driving the company's transformation from a purely licensed model to almost all recurring revenue.

Prior to Adobe, Thompson held a number of sales and field operation leadership roles in the software space, including as a member of the executive team for Borland Software (acquired by Micro Focus), Marimba (acquired by BMC Software), Calico Commerce (acquired by PeopleSoft) and Cadence Design Systems. He began his career at Electronic Data Systems.

Currently, Thompson sits on the Board of NCR and previously held a board role with Appirio (acquired by Wipro). He was named the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus of the NIU College of Business and received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Northern Illinois University.

About Ellucian

Ellucian is the market leader charting the digital future of higher education with a portfolio of cloud-ready technology solutions and services. From student recruitment to workforce analytics; from fundraising opportunities to alumni engagement; Ellucian's comprehensive suite of data-rich tools gives colleges and universities the information they need to lead with confidence.

Working with a community of more than 2,700 customers in over 50 countries, Ellucian keeps innovating as higher education keeps evolving. Drawing on its comprehensive higher education business acumen and suite of services, Ellucian guides its customers through manageable, sustainable digital transformation—so that every type of institution and student can thrive in today's fast-changing landscape. To find out what's next in higher education solutions and services, visit Ellucian at www.ellucian.com.