Codio CEO Doug Hughes believes edtech is the future

Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding brings long life and health, as Jeru the Damaja once said—and when integrated into edtech, it could potentially mean a long career.

That’s what Doug Hughes, CEO of edtech company Codio, has found in his three-decade professional life. After a stint in the Army, Hughes became the first person in his family to go to college, at the University of West Georgia for computer science—initially for cybersecurity. But learning more about the industry changed his mind on what to focus on.

“After I got into computer science really deeply, I started realizing that I had a lot more of a business mind,” Hughes said. “Late in the game, I transitioned over to information systems.”

It was a smart shift. The university hired Hughes to write software and automate the school’s copying and printing center’s billing processes. That experience, and the connections he made, led him to McGraw Hill, the global education science company. He started as a consultant and left the company over 17 years later as chief sales officer.

Looking to the new. Working for McGraw Hill was getting his “ticket punched,” Hughes told IT Brew. He focused on the technology side of the edtech business as an “evangelist.”

Pursuing what he felt was his life’s calling, he moved on to executive positions at edtech companies like Knewton Alta, where he was chief product officer, and then Encoura and OnlineMedEd, where at both of which he was CEO for two-and-a-half years.

Future perspectives. Hughes joined Codio as CEO in January. It was a move aimed at taking his experiences in edtech and translating them into something more accessible to students looking for work. The platform consolidates upskilling and education tools for learners and employers alike.

Heading up Codio is a natural evolution for Hughes, whose devotion to education hasn’t waned throughout his career. He told IT Brew that he’s still invested in the future of how technology and education can work together, something that he believes is going to determine how we interact and work with one another for years to come.

“Higher education must become much more intentionally applied and skills-focused,” Hughes said. “It doesn’t mean you don’t teach the theory, it means that you don’t stop at the theory—you get to the theory faster, and you get to the application, and you have to make the room for application work.”