Christopher "Chip" Paucek is the co-founder and CEO of 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU), described by Forbes Magazine as the “nation’s leading provider of software for universities” delivering digital higher education at scale.

Paucek's innovative work at 2U has earned him many accolades, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2012, the Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs Award in 2013, and multiple Highest Rated CEO awards from Glassdoor. In 2017, Paucek was named among America's best chief executives by Institutional Investor magazine, ranking third among mid-cap technology, media, and telecom companies. He is a leading voice and speaker on entrepreneurship and the global education and technology landscape. Paucek also sits on 2U’s Board of Directors.

Paucek has been involved in education ventures since the early 1990s. Prior to 2U, Paucek served as CEO of Smarterville, Inc., the parent company of Hooked on Phonics. Paucek began his entrepreneurial career in 1993 when he co-founded his first company, Cerebellum Corporation, which produced the award-winning educational television program and video series Standard Deviants. He led Cerebellum as Co-Chief Executive Officer until 2003. In 2004, Paucek took a break from the business world to serve as Deputy Campaign Manager for the successful re-election of United States Senator Barbara Mikulski.

Paucek holds a B.A. from The George Washington University and an M.B.A. from the 2U-powered MBA@UNC program at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. As a native of South Florida, he is an avid Miami Dolphins fan. Paucek lives in Annapolis, MD, with his wife Gabbi and two sons Noah and Henry.

As 2U's chief financial officer, Paul S. Lalljie has more than 20 years of experience in finance management in the high-growth technology sector and most recently served as CFO of Neustar, Inc., an information services and technology company, from 2009 to 2018. As Neustar’s CFO, Lalljie oversaw all global finance functions, including treasury, accounting, financial planning and analysis, real estate management, and investor relations. While at Neustar, he led the company’s quarterly reporting cycles and was instrumental in a broad range of capital markets transactions, including an initial public offering, five rounds of financings, six share repurchases, and multiple acquisitions.

Lalljie joined Neustar’s finance department in 2000 and held several roles there before becoming CFO. Joining Neustar in its early start-up phase, he built and managed several different finance teams, partnering with business operations leaders to improve processes and to speed up decision making. Since 2018, Lalljie has served as an investment advisor for private equity firms, consulting for their software and services team

Mark Chernis is 2U's Chief Operating Officer. Prior to becoming COO, Chernis served as a Board and Audit Committee member at 2U for nearly a decade. He stepped down from 2U's Board in order to take on his role as COO.

Chernis joined 2U in 2018 from Pearson, a global education company with employees in more than 80 countries, where he served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Investments. Prior to Pearson, Chernis served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of SchoolNet, which at the time of its acquisition by Pearson was the leading provider of instructional management software serving hundreds of school districts across the United States.

Prior to Schoolnet, Chernis joined The Princeton Review and served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and Secretary. In August 2000, he was appointed as President of the company. During his 24-year career at The Princeton Review, Chernis either held or oversaw key leadership positions in nearly every sector of the company, including information technology, operations, product development, and each of The Princeton Review’s three operating divisions. Over the years he orchestrated more than 15 corporate acquisitions, sat on several corporate boards — including SchoolNet, Inc., and was instrumental in Princeton Review’s IPO in June 2001.

Chernis attended Vassar College and now lives in Bedford, NY, where he was thrice publicly elected to the Board of Education for the Bedford Central School District.

Rani Hammond is 2U’s Chief People Officer and oversees global human resources, talent management, and recruiting.

Prior to 2U, Hammond served as Chief Human Resources Officer at David’s Bridal, Inc., where she was accountable for the full talent lifecycle of the global retailer’s 14,000 employees. While at David’s Bridal, Hammond worked closely with the CEO and the board to build a highly functioning executive team focused on formulating and delivering the growth strategy of the business. She also implemented a disruptive approach to talent acquisition and retention and reformulated the company’s entire benefits platform.

Hammond has more than 20 years of human resources management and executive experience, including six years working for Hilton Worldwide as both a human resources vice president and Vice President of Global Brands Performance and Planning. While at Hilton, Hammond provided client consulting services to executive vice presidents and their global teams that were collectively responsible for Hilton hotel brands, global marketing, sales, revenue management, loyalty, partnerships, digital, and e-commerce functions.

A graduate of Bond University in Australia, Hammond holds a Bachelor of Commerce in HR Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.