Mark East

Mark was appointed Vice President of Public Sector for the merged companies of Coursera and Udemy in June 2026. Coursera and Udemy are leading global online learning and skills-development platforms, helping individuals, universities, and organisations build the knowledge and capabilities needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world. In May 2026, Coursera and Udemy completed their merger, bringing together more than 290 million learners, 18,000 enterprise customers, and 95,000 content creators to create one of the world's most comprehensive skills platforms for the AI era.

Prior to joining Coursera as Vice President of EMEA, Mark was the regional business leader for Education at Microsoft in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), leading a team of approximately 250 people dedicated to helping institutions transform education through the efficient and effective use of information technology. He was accountable for all operations in the EMEA region across Higher Education and K-12 institutions, Ministries of Education, and Libraries and Museums.

Mark joined Microsoft UK in 1988 to establish its Education division. In 1990, he was awarded the Microsoft UK President's Award in recognition of his work serving education institutions throughout the UK. He went on to lead teams for Microsoft across Enterprise, Small Business, Home & Retail, Channel Infrastructure, and Public Sector, and was appointed to the Microsoft UK Board of Directors in 2000. Mark spent two years living in Seattle, Washington, while leading Microsoft's worldwide Education division, before returning to the UK to provide education leadership across the EMEA region. In September 2005, he received the Microsoft Achievement Award for sustained, high-level contributions to Microsoft's leadership in education.

After 35 years at Microsoft, Mark left the company in 2023 to become an advisor to the EdTech industry — part of his lifelong mission to help transform schools and universities through the effective and efficient use of digital technology and AI. He has continued in this advisory role since 2024. Before joining Microsoft, Mark spent eight years with UK technology partner Micro Facilities, having first worked there part-time while at college.

Mark's philanthropy is focused on skills and learning. In 2008, he built a secondary school in Mauta village on Mfangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya, and has since sponsored graduating African students through university. He also founded Digital Pipeline, a UK-registered charity aimed at empowering communities through access to technology, serving as its chairman for several years. More recently, he has been funding the development of a gorilla research centre in Bwindi, Uganda.