Talk:Matthew Pittinsky

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Board service update
On behalf of the subject, and as part of my work at Beutler Ink, I would like to submit a few edit requests to bring this biography up to date. This entry has not changed much since its creation back in August 2014. I intend to propose straightforward updates and upload a photo to Commons.

Currently, the article's Personal life section says, "As of March 2014, Pittinsky serves on the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He has previously served on the American University board of trustees and on the board of In2Books, a literacy nonprofit organization."

I propose removing this content from Personal life because the text is outdated (by a decade!) and because Reference #4 is nonfunctional. I propose adding a standalone Board service section with the following up to date overview of his board roles:


 * Pittinsky serves on the boards of American University and New Classrooms. In addition to Blackboard and Parchment, he has also served on the boards of The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation), CampusLogic, the High Meadows Graduate School of Teaching and Learning (formerly the Woodrow Wilson Graduate School of Teaching and Learning), and Picmonic.

Given my conflict of interest, I will not be editing the page directly and will seek assistance from volunteer reviewers. Thanks in advance! Inkian Jason (talk) 19:51, 12 March 2024 (UTC)
 * CNMall41 (talk) 05:39, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for reviewing. Inkian Jason (talk) 16:06, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Investments update
I have another update in mind for this entry. Currently, the Personal life section says: "Active as an angel investor, Pittinsky has invested in companies including SocialRadar and Interfolio."

I propose a simple expansion of this sentence to add mention of a couple additional investments, based on journalistic sources. I propose updating by replacing with the following sentence:


 * Active as an angel investor, Pittinsky has invested in companies including SocialRadar, Interfolio, Picmonic, and Stellic.

I'd like to think this is a non-controversial update, but I do not edit the main space because of my COI and invite others to update the article on my behalf. Thanks again! Inkian Jason (talk) 16:45, 13 March 2024 (UTC)
 * CNMall41 (talk) 05:37, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks again. Inkian Jason (talk) 16:06, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Infobox image
On behalf of the subject, I have uploaded the headshot File:Matthew Pittinsky.jpg at Wikimedia Commons. The permissions have been confirmed by the Volunteer Response Team. Does someone mind adding this image to the article's infobox and removing the photo request from the top of this page? I consider this an improvement but avoid editing the main space because of my conflict of interest.

Thank you! Inkian Jason (talk) 21:03, 22 March 2024 (UTC)
 * CNMall41 (talk) 23:25, 29 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for updating the article on my behalf. Inkian Jason (talk) 16:06, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Update requests re: Arizona State and Parchment
Thank you for reviewing the above requests. I appreciate your help. I've submitted a few more suggestions below for consideration. Inkian Jason (talk) 20:52, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Arizona State
I would like to submit another request to update this entry. Currently, the Academia subsection says: "As of March 2014, Pittinsky is still affiliated with Arizona State as an assistant research professor." Arizona State University describes Pittinsky as a visiting scholar, a faculty member, and a researcher who "remains a non tenure-track visiting scholar of sociology". Similarly, his Parchment biography says, "Matthew remains a non tenure-track visiting scholar of sociology of ASU". I am not sure where the "March 2014" timestamp comes from, since the source used as an inline citation was published in April 2013, but either way the claim is a decade old. I propose updating the text to the following:


 * Pittinsky was an assistant research professor, as of 2013, and he remains a non tenure-track visiting scholar of sociology at Arizona State.

This update would also support a change to the lead, which currently says, "Pittinsky is also affiliated with Arizona State University as an assistant research professor." Again, I don't think this is a controversial update but I do not edit the main space because of my conflict of interest. Can someone review update the biography appropriately? Inkian Jason (talk) 20:52, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Sales to Brentwood and Instructure
As noted above, this entry has not been updated much in a decade. The article fails to note the sale of Parchment to Brentwood, and then Instructure. I realize this is a biography of Pittinsky, and not Parchment, but the sales are relevant because he remained CEO through both transactions.


 * This source and others cover the sale to Brentwood and merge with Credentials Solutions:
 * "Steering this deal is Brentwood Associates, which acquired a controlling stake in Credentials Solutions in 2018. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm completed its purchase of Parchment, which becomes the new name of the combined companies... Matthew Pittinsky, who will lead the new company..."
 * This source and others cover Parchment's subsequent sale to Instructure.

In order to make the article more accurate and up to date, I propose adding:


 * Following an acquisition by Brentwood Associates in 2020, Parchment was merged with Credentials Solutions. The combined company served approximately 13,000 educational institutions and professional organizations, and facilitated approximately 18.5 million academic records annually. Instructure announced plans to purchase Parchment for $835 million in late 2023, when Parchment had processed approximately 165 million requests for credentials for 15,000 institutions in six nations.

Additionally, since Parchment's website describes Parchment as "an Instructure company", I propose these changes to the article's infobox and introduction:
 * Related
 * in the infobox's occupation field, replace "CEO of Parchment" with "CEO of Parchment (an Instructure company)"
 * in the lead, change "He is the CEO of Parchment and a co-founder of Blackboard Inc." to "He is the CEO of Parchment (an Instructure company) and a co-founder of Blackboard Inc."

Same as before, I don't think this is particularly controversial, but I do not edit the main space and would appreciate help from other editors to update the entry appropriately.

Thank you! Inkian Jason (talk) 20:52, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Funding
Currently, the Parchment section says, "He has led the company through three rounds of financing which, as of March 2014, have brought in a total of $45 million in investments." This source, published in 2020, says, "Parchment had raised $66 million in venture funding before the purchase from the likes of Raine Group, GSV Capital, Deborah Quazzo, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, ICG Group and Salmon River Capital."

Therefore, I propose updating the sentence to the following:


 * He has led the company through multiple rounds of financing which, as of 2020, have brought in a total of $66 million in investments.

Thanks again for considering these article improvements. Happy to address any concerns here or on my user Talk page. Thanks! Inkian Jason (talk) 20:52, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Blackboard update
Hi again! I'd like to submit another request for this biography. Currently, the Blackboard Inc section says, "Between 1997 and 2008, Pittinsky served in several roles at the company, including chairman and CEO, co-CEO, and executive chairman." This is true, but the article does not say anything about Blackboard post-2008. Therefore, I propose the following addition to the section:


 * Pittinsky resigned from his executive duties in 2008, yet remained chairman of Blackboard's board of directors. In 2010, the company earned approximately $447 million in revenue and $96 million in earnings. Pittinsky and Chasen sold Blackboard to private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners in 2011, following a $2 billion valuation.

I've included quotes which verify the claims, and my goal is to clarify the current text, which suggests Pittinsky was not involved in Blackboard after 2008 (which is not true). I'm asking editors to review and implement appropriately, as I avoid editing the main space because of my COI.

Thanks! Inkian Jason (talk) 14:50, 18 April 2024 (UTC)