Retired IBM EdTech executive and former president of ScholarChip join Global Grid for Learning’s executive team
Global Grid for Learning (GG4L) today announced two senior executive appointments that strengthen its leadership as the company scales its education technology and workforce readiness offerings. Michael King joins GG4L as a Director on the Board and President, bringing more than 35 years of experience in the education and technology sectors. Craig Lockwood has been appointed Chief Operations and Chief Finance Officer, adding three decades of operational and financial leadership to the executive team.
Michael King’s career includes serving as Vice President and General Manager for IBM’s Global Education Industry, where he led cross-functional teams to identify market opportunities, develop product and service offerings, and drive global revenue and profit performance through coordinated marketing, sales, and services. His experience with enterprise-grade education solutions and strategic go-to-market execution positions him to lead GG4L’s expansion of technology-focused programs, including its Future-Proof Skills Program and workforce readiness initiatives.
“I’m thrilled to join GG4L at this key growth stage and work alongside its talented team to execute new growth strategies,” said Michael King. His appointment reinforces GG4L’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with schools and EdTech vendors while accelerating product development and market reach.
Craig Lockwood arrives at GG4L after serving as President of ScholarChip, and previously as President of Tuition Management Systems. With 30 years of experience, Lockwood has a proven track record of delivering operational excellence, optimizing financial performance, and applying performance analytics to scale organizational processes. His background in strategic planning and performance measurement will help GG4L professionalize core operations as the company expands.
“I am delighted to be joining GG4L at such a pivotal moment in the company’s history,” said Craig Lockwood. “Impacting the digitalization of education on a global scale will require consistent, disciplined, world-class execution. It is a privilege to be working alongside such a talented, dedicated, and mission-focused team towards a common goal.”
The company has experienced a rapid period of growth, with more EdTech vendors joining GG4L and the platform now serving more than 24,000 schools. As the organization scales, it has grown to a team of over 75 staff members. Lockwood’s operational expertise and King’s global education industry experience are intended to sustain momentum, streamline processes, and support continued adoption of GG4L services.
“We welcome Mike and Craig to GG4L. They are both exceptional leaders and perfectly suited to lead us into the future,” said Robert Iskander, CEO & Chairman. “During this rapid growth stage, we need their experience and knowledge to sustain our momentum.”
About Global Grid for Learning (GG4L), a Public Benefit Corporation
Founded in 2018, Global Grid for Learning (GG4L) is a membership-based collaborative that provides a foundation for digital transformation in K–12 education. GG4L supports schools and EdTech vendors through a secure integration platform and governance framework designed to simplify data exchange while protecting student privacy. The company’s School Passport® platform operates as an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), offering a suite of cloud integration services that enable interoperable connections across student information systems, learning tools, assessment platforms, and other EdTech applications.
GG4L is financially sustained by hundreds of EdTech vendors and emphasizes open standards-based data integrations, governed data exchange, and strict data privacy compliance. The organization also markets industry-leading PII Shield protection to safeguard personally identifiable information in connected educational systems. These capabilities are central to GG4L’s mission of enabling secure, standards-driven data exchange so districts and vendors can focus on learning outcomes and workforce readiness.
GG4L continues to expand its offerings to support future-ready skills, workforce preparedness, and scalable digital infrastructure for schools. The recent executive additions of Michael King and Craig Lockwood are intended to accelerate product innovation, strengthen financial and operational controls, and broaden the company’s impact across global education markets.
For general information, GG4L’s website is gg4l.com.