Bold leadership

ACI Learning boasts a transformative leadership team that is revolutionizing the way companies train and technology professionals learn in the realms of audit, cybersecurity, and information technology. Drawing upon their expertise as industry veterans and subject matter experts, the leadership team ensures comprehensive certification preparation and skills training, delivering engaging content that supports every stage of the career lifecycle. Through immersive experiences like talk shows, cinematic productions, and anime series, these leaders challenge traditional learning methods. Trusted by prestigious entities like the Fortune 500 and leading universities, ACI Learning's leadership team is reshaping the tech training landscape.
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Brett Shively

Brett Shively

Chief Executive Officer
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Our CEO, Brett Shively, leads the organization through his commitment to education, training and certification that drive individual career progression and organizational compliance and growth. With over two decades of experience in the learning sector, "doing well by doing good" is an accurate expression to describe the passion that has inspired Brett in his career. He has worked in Fortune 500, VC backed and privately held organizations always motived by outcomes that change lives. Brett has a BA in Communications and Political Science from Georgetown College. As a resident of both Chicago and Denver Brett gets to experience the best of both cities.
Ann Reist

Ann Reist

Chief Marketing Officer
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Ann Reist, serves as our Chief Marketing Officer and is responsible for delivering on ACI Learning’s brand promise, growth initiatives and its mission to drive the best outcomes for its learners. Ann is passionate about using data and insights to ensure a consistent stream of measurable inbound and outbound initiatives that increase brand awareness while driving conversions, pipeline and revenue. With her extensive background (over two decades) in the technology and professional education markets she is driven and inspired by empowering her team to be innovative and grow in their careers. She has a Bachelor of Business in Marketing degree from Western Illinois University and resides in the western suburbs of Chicago with her family.
Tom Katsahnias

Tom Katsahnias

Chief Operating Officer
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Tom Katsahnias, our Chief Operating Officer is keenly focused on helping clients solve challenges through creative training solutions. Having spent the last decade in the education and training space he and his teams have helped numerous clients “level up” their teams in an effort to address the skills gap within the US workforce. A builder at heart, Tom enjoys building high performing teams and organizations in realization of client success. A United States Army veteran, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from the University of Dayton and an MBA with concentrations in General Management/Finance from the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University. Residing outside Chicago, IL with his family, he is also an avid Cross Fitter.
John Cascio

John Cascio

Chief Financial Officer
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As our CFO, John Cascio oversees strategic financial planning, investor relations and keeping score of the right success metrics. John focuses on instituting processes and systems to aid in value creation by molding operational and financial data to achieve accretive growth. John launched his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on the private company sector. John has a decade of experience working for multiple private-equity sponsors as a finance leader at a high-growth educational technology company. A native Houstonian, John and his family have made a new home in Boulder, Colorado. In his spare time, you can find John training for road and gravel bike races or finding new trails to hike.
Tim Kalil

Tim Kalil

Chief sales officer
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Tim Kalil is passionate about producing meaningful outcomes through education for Clients and Team Members. An extremely driven and competitive person, he channels that energy into the success of others. Tim's unique blend of Tech, Ops and Sales expertise connects the business with a keen focus on growth, people, processes, and systems. He has a knack for turning vision into reality. Tim earned his Bachelor's degree from South Dakota State University while competing as a Division I golfer, and an MBA from the University of South Dakota. While Denver is his home-away-from-home, Tim resides with his family in Minneapolis, MN.
Philip Ford

Phillip Ford

Chief Human Resources Officer
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Phillip devotes his time to finding and cultivating the best talent for ACI Learning. He works with the leadership team to maintain the fun and engaging culture that retains our amazing team members. Hiring the very best and helping create an environment where they can grow while doing meaningful work is at the core of our recipe to success. Phillip is passionate about developing current and future leaders, using a variety of methods and programs to help team members reach their potential. Phillip attended both the United States Naval Academy and the University of Texas at Arlington. Phillip loves the outdoors and enjoys hitting the trails on his mountain bike whenever possible.
Don Pezet

Don Pezet

Chief Product Officer
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Don has been working in the IT industry for more than 20 years and holds dozens of IT certifications. He has been an IT educator for more than 12 years and brings his talents to the video on demand world to reach a massive number of students when and where it is convenient for them. Don teaches a variety of courses on network and systems administration, but he readily admits that his favorite topic is Linux. His goal is to provide engaging and effective training that he wishes he would have had when he got his start in IT. In his spare time, Don is the host of the weekly IT podcast Technado with Don Pezet. Don holds a BA from Excelsior College in Liberal Studies with a focus in Computer Information Sciences and Political Science. He lives in North Central Florida with his family.