Business
Udemy Founder Eren Bali Returns as Chief Technology Officer
Appointment of co-founder and longtime board member as CTO reflects Udemy’s commitment to accelerating the company's product strategy, leading the evolution
About this update from Udemy, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nAppointment of co-founder and longtime board member as CTO reflects Udemy’s commitment to accelerating the company's product strategy, leading the evolution of learning with AI, and delivering innovation and value to all customers\n\n\n SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nUdemy (Nasdaq: UDMY), a leading online skills marketplace and learning platform, today announced that Eren Bali, who co-founded Udemy in 2010 and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until 2014, has returned as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective August 12, 2024. Bali succeeds Venu Venugopal, who has served as Udemy’s CTO since May 2019. Venugopal will continue serving in an advisory capacity to ensure a seamless transition.\n\n\nBali will report directly to Udemy’s President and CEO, Greg Brown, and will oversee Udemy’s engineering, data, and technical program management teams. In this role, Bali will work closely with Udemy’s Chief Product Officer, Prasad Raje, to accelerate Udemy’s product strategy, bolster growth across the enterprise business, and bring additional innovations to Udemy’s direct-to-consumer offerings. Upon starting his role as CTO, Bali stepped down from Udemy’s Board of Directors.\n\n\n“As a founder, CEO, and longtime board member who is a proven, growth-oriented, strategic and operational leader, Eren has been instrumental in building Udemy from day one to become the business it is today,” said Greg Brown, Udemy’s President and CEO. “We are extremely pleased to have Eren as part of our management team, bringing his extensive background in successful new product launches, geographic market expansions, and building high-performing teams—all underpinned by his deep familiarity with our operations and passion for our mission. We look forward to Eren’s contributions to advancing our product strategy and delivering innovation and value to our customers around the world.”\n\n\n“We founded Udemy in 2010 to democratize access to quality education, making it truly accessible to everyone, everywhere, no matter their circumstance,” said Bali. “Since then, the company has grown significantly to become a leading skills development and validation platform that enhances business outcomes for organizations and supports individuals in achieving their career goals. In addition, advancements in generative AI unlock new opportunities for...