David Cumberbatch
New Market Thoughts
Dec 19, 2025
4
min read
News & Updates
Edtech and Workforce Development News Roundup - 12/19
In today's ever-changing world of education and workforce development, technology is increasingly shaping the opportunities available to students, schools, and employers. From online talent marketplaces and cutting-edge edtech tools to personalized support systems and updated regulations, these changes reflect a shared effort to make education more transparent, results-focused, and centered around the learner.
Dec 12, 2025
4
min read
News & Updates
Edtech and Workforce Development News Roundup - 12/12
In today's rapidly evolving workforce Industry, traditional pathways into employment are facing unprecedented challenges, from eroding entry-level opportunities to shifting perceptions of higher education's value. As AI continues to transform skill requirements and job roles, innovative approaches (such as portfolio-based work-based learning, skills-first strategies, and streamlined educational systems) are emerging as vital solutions to bridge gaps and foster economic mobility.
Dec 5, 2025
4
min read
News & Updates
Edtech and Workforce Development News Roundup - 12/05
In this week's News Roundup, the articles featured highlight how the traditional pathways from education to career are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. From the widening gap between high school graduation and workforce readiness to the diminishing returns of a college degree, stakeholders across the education and employment sectors are rethinking how we prepare young people for success.
David Cumberbatch is currently a Senior Advisor for K-12 Solutions, with a focus on commercialization, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mr. Cumberbatch is also a Senior Advisor to Apogee Equity Partners, New Markets Ventures, and is a member of the board of advisors for Village Capital and Riiid Labs.
Mr. Cumberbatch served as the Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President at Stride, Inc. (formerly K12, Inc.) from 2014 to 2016 where he focused on K12’s expansion into career readiness and education technology solutions, including the acquisition of LTS. Mr. Cumberbatch also served as the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of ACT Inc. (the non-profit leader in college and career readiness assessment in the US) from 2011 to 2014. At ACT, he re-positioned the ACT brand and collaborated on the development of the digital ACT test and the launch of ACT Aspire.
Mr. Cumberbatch has held leadership positions with the start-ups such as Imagitas, and Simpletuition. Prior to that, Mr. Cumberbatch played an instrumental role at Microsoft Corporation where his business development work was featured in Fortune magazine. Mr. Cumberbatch also served as a Brand Manager of Procter & Gamble in Europe, and Latin America. Mr. Cumberbatch earned a B.A. in Computing and Economics (Hons, First Class) from the University of Kent at Canterbury, and an MPhil in Management Studies from the University of Oxford where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.
He began his working life as an Assistant Teacher in the public school system of his native Trinidad and Tobago and remains passionate about the potential for technology to transform global education. He resides in the Washington DC metro area with his wife and two sons.
