Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Bolsters Consumer Media Capabilities with Strategic Leadership Appointments

BOSTON – Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today announced two key appointments to support the Company’s growing strategic focus on the development of learning solutions for the home.  Leigh Zarelli joins HMH from AOL Inc. as Senior Vice President of Consumer Brands, while Caroline Fraser becomes Vice President of Program Development and Acquisition, joining from Scholastic Media. Both bring significant experience in consumer content marketing and development to the HMH team. Leigh Zarelli

As SVP of Consumer Brands, Zarelli will drive the strategic direction and expansion of the Company’s direct-to-consumer product offering, which includes early learning destination Curious World and online math resource Go Math! Academy.  As VP of Program Development and Acquisition, Fraser will spearhead new content development for the consumer market and identify new media channels for HMH’s stable of iconic brands and characters, including Curious George, Carmen Sandiego and The Oregon Trail. Both will report to Executive Vice President and Chief of Consumer Brands and Strategy, CJ Kettler.
 
“I am excited to welcome Leigh and Caroline to our growing Consumer team at HMH,” said Kettler. “They both bring extensive media industry experience and strategic expertise in consumer product development that will play a critical role as we meet the growing need for high-quality learning content for the home.  We have built strong foundations over the last year with Curious World and Go Math! Academy, and these strategic Caroline Fraserappointments will enable us to further escalate our growth in this space.”  

With more than 15 years’ experience in the media industry, Zarelli joins HMH from AOL Inc., where she was Chief Operating Officer of Patch Media and led the company’s mobile commerce strategy. Previously, she held leadership positions in corporate strategy and product development at the Walt Disney Company, and IAC InterActiveCorp.  Zarelli holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.

Fraser joins HMH from Scholastic Media where as VP of Digital Products and Production, she was responsible for the development of Storia, the company’s eReading platform, as well as over 100 cross-platform digital learning products for the consumer market.  Prior to joining Scholastic, Fraser held roles at The American Museum of Natural History and Disney Interactive. Fraser received a Master in Education from Bank Street College of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Both Zarelli and Fraser will be based in the Company’s New York office.

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About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ:HMHC) is a global learning company dedicated to changing people’s lives by fostering passionate, curious learners. As a leading provider of pre-K–12 education content, services, and cutting-edge technology solutions across a variety of media, HMH enables learning in a changing landscape. HMH is uniquely positioned to create engaging and effective educational content and experiences from early childhood to beyond the classroom.  HMH serves more than 50 million students in over 150 countries worldwide, while its award-winning children's books, novels, non-fiction, and reference titles are enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.

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Media Contact:
Bianca Olson
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
617-351-3841
bianca.olson@hmhco.com

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