Macmillan's New CPO Signals a Human-First Play in the AI Arms Race

NEW YORK, NY – August 27, 2026 – In a move that speaks volumes about the shifting priorities of the digital education landscape, Macmillan Learning has promoted Kristin Peikert to the role of Chief People Officer. While C-suite announcements are a daily occurrence, this one warrants a closer look. It’s not just about a new title; it’s a declaration of strategy. By elevating a leader renowned for her human-centered approach to technology and talent, the family-owned digital learning company is placing a decisive bet that its most critical asset in the age of AI is not its code, but its people.

Peikert, an 11-year veteran of the company, now helms the entire workforce strategy. Her mandate is to ensure the organization’s talent, culture, and capabilities evolve in lockstep with a rapidly changing business environment. It’s a role that transcends traditional HR, positioning the CPO as a central architect of the company’s competitive future. As CEO Susan Winslow stated, “Kristin has the rare ability to see around corners, challenge conventional thinking and translate big ideas into practical changes for our organization.” That foresight is precisely what the EdTech sector, now in the early, turbulent innings of its AI transformation, desperately needs.

The Strategic Pivot: People as the Core of Business Strategy

For years, the C-suite in many tech-adjacent industries has been dominated by product, finance, and technology chiefs. The head of Human Resources, while important, was often seen as a support function. Macmillan Learning’s move signals a definitive break from that paradigm. Peikert’s own words crystallize this shift: “People strategy is business strategy, especially at a time when the way we work and the capabilities organizations need are changing so quickly.”

This isn’t just corporate rhetoric. In the EdTech sector, the pace of technological disruption is relentless. The rise of generative AI, personalized learning platforms, and data analytics is not only changing the products offered to students but also fundamentally reshaping the skills required of the employees who build and support them. A company’s ability to innovate is now directly tied to its ability to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that is adaptable, resilient, and technologically fluent. This is where Peikert’s long-term vision has been pivotal. Over her tenure, she has guided the evolution of the company’s HR function into a strategic People & Culture organization, modernizing its approach to talent development, employee engagement, and organizational effectiveness. The promotion is the logical culmination of a long-term investment in human capital as a primary driver of business value.

Holtzbrinck’s Chief People Officer, Cathrin Vischer, praised Peikert as an “innovative and entrepreneurial HR leader who understands how technology is reshaping organizations.” This endorsement from the parent company underscores the strategic weight of the appointment. It validates the idea that in an industry defined by digital transformation, the most complex system to manage is the human one. As Winslow noted, “She understands that preparing a company for the future is ultimately about preparing its people for that future.”

A Human-Centered Blueprint for the AI Era

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Peikert’s elevation is her recognized leadership in navigating the impact of Artificial Intelligence. While many organizations are scrambling to adopt AI tools, Peikert has championed a more profound and strategic approach—one that looks beyond mere implementation to the fundamental reshaping of jobs, skills, and workflows. This human-centered philosophy recently earned her the ‘People + AI Pioneer Award’ from Lattice, a significant external validation of Macmillan Learning's internal strategy.

According to Peikert, the company is managing the workforce impact of AI through a deliberate, three-pronged strategy. First is a deep investment in upskilling, tied to a clearly defined skills framework that prepares employees for the future of work, not just the next software update. Second is the establishment of strong governance grounded in research and trust, ensuring that AI is adopted ethically and effectively. The third, and arguably most transformative, pillar is the strategic redesign of workflows. The goal isn't to replace people, but to augment them. By using AI to automate low-value, repetitive tasks, the company aims to free up its employees’ time and cognitive bandwidth for more strategic, creative, and “distinctly human” work.

This reframes AI from a threat to a “multiplier for our people and for student success,” as Peikert puts it. It’s a sophisticated approach that moves the conversation from job displacement to capability elevation. In a sector where trust is paramount, building a workforce that is confident and capable in its use of AI—rather than fearful of it—is a powerful competitive advantage. It ensures that the technology serves the company’s educational mission, rather than undermining the human element that has long been at its core.

From HR Leader to Strategic Architect

Peikert’s journey to the C-suite is a case study in the evolution of the HR profession itself. Her 11-year tenure at Macmillan Learning has been marked by a steady expansion of influence, from traditional HR responsibilities to shaping the very culture and future-readiness of the organization. Her background, which includes leadership roles at firms like Hill+Knowlton Strategies, provided a foundation in building scalable infrastructure and managing complex organizational dynamics—experience that has proven invaluable in a rapidly growing digital learning company.

By consistently focusing on how to prepare people for what's next, she has demonstrated the immense value of sustained, forward-thinking leadership within the people function. Her work in modernizing talent development and fostering an adaptive culture was not a short-term project but a long-term campaign to build organizational resilience from the inside out. This promotion is not just a reward for past performance; it is an acknowledgement that the culture she has helped cultivate is now the central engine for the company’s future growth.

As organizations everywhere grapple with change fatigue and the relentless pace of innovation, Peikert’s focus on creating an environment where “people can continue to learn, grow and thrive” is more critical than ever. It’s a long-term investment in sustainability that stands in stark contrast to the short-term, growth-at-all-costs mindset that has characterized parts of the tech industry. Macmillan Learning is signaling that the path to a durable future in EdTech is paved not just with innovative products, but with an empowered, adaptable, and well-supported workforce ready to build them.