Stride, formerly K12, names new CEO

Herndon-based online education provider Stride Inc., formerly K12 Inc., announced Tuesday that Nathaniel A. “Nate” Davis is retiring from his role as CEO and will be succeeded by James J. Rhyu.

Davis joined the K12 board of directors in 2009 and was named chairman in 2012 and CEO in February 2018. He will remain with the company as executive chairman of the board.

Rhyu has been with the company for eight years and has served as chief financial officer, president of product and technology and most recently as president of corporate strategy, marketing and technology.

“I have complete faith in [Rhyu’s] broad set of skills, which he’s developed through managing many different functional areas,” Davis said in a statement. “Whether it’s examining student enrollment trends, evaluating acquisitions or dissecting changes in marketing programs and techniques, James has played an active role in using business information to set strategic direction and drive the success of new initiatives.” 

Stride offers online curricula and schooling platform services to more than 2,000 schools in all 50 U.S. states and more than 100 countries. The company reported more than $1 billion in 2019 revenue and in late 2020 changed its name from K12 to Stride to show it was “no longer limited by the boundaries of the K-12 market, and that we are dedicated to supporting lifelong learning,” Davis said in a November 2020 statement.

During his time as CEO, Davis led initiatives to strengthen academic outcomes, teacher tools, student-teacher interaction and the use of artificial intelligence. The company increased revenues on an annual basis by more than 65% while he was in charge, according to a Stride statement.

Before his time with Stride, Rhyu served as CFO and chief administrative officer with Match.com and as senior vice president of finance at Dow Jones & Co. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree in business administration from the London Business School.

“It is an honor and a privilege to lead Stride Inc. — a company that is reimagining learning for today’s digital economy,” Rhyu said in a statement. “I am very much looking forward to building on our successes as a company and providing personalized, high-quality education for learners of all ages.”

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