Kelly Palmer

KELLY PALMER is on a mission to change the way the world learns. A well-known thought leader on learning, business, and career development, she is currently on the executive team of Degreed and was formerly the chief learning officer of LinkedIn. Prior to LinkedIn, Kelly was vice president of learning at Yahoo! and held executive positions in learning, M&A, and product development at Sun Microsystems.

Kelly speaks regularly at companies and business conferences around the world, has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Barron’s, Financial TimesFast Company, ForbesEntrepreneurInc.MIT Management Review, Scientific American, Chief Learning Officer (CLO), and on Bloomberg Radio. Kelly has a Bachelor of Arts in English/communications and a Master of Science in adult learning and education technology. She is the co-author of the book The Expertise Economy: How the smartest companies use learning to engage, compete, and succeed. Kelly lives in San Francisco.

Follow Kelly on Degreed     Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn


David Blake

DAVID BLAKE is the cofounder of Degreed. He believes learning is too important to stay the way it is and has spent his career innovating higher education and lifelong learning. Prior to Degreed, he helped launched a competency-based, accredited university and was a founding team member at Zinch (acquired by Chegg). David was selected as a Top EdTech Entrepreneur by the Stanford d.School EdTech Lab, sponsored by Teach For America and NewSchools Venture Fund.

David has been published in the Harvard Technology Review, Business Insider, TechCrunch, and Huffington Post. He has spoken around the world on the topic of the future of learning, including the ASU Education Innovation Summit, EdTech Europe, and TEDx. He lives in San Francisco, CA.

Follow David on Degreed     Connect with David on LinkedIn


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“Everyone agrees that learning provides a competitive edge in an outsourced, automated economy. But what’s the essential next step? In The Expertise Economy, Kelly Palmer and David Blake make a persuasive case that companies play a huge role in shaping the future of learning. This excellent book offers practical and evidence-based insights that can help CEOs and other business leaders challenge the status quo.”

— ―Daniel H. Pink, author, WHEN and DRIVE