Renovata has placed a battle-tested finance leader at one of the world’s leading AI-native skills management platforms — a high-conviction appointment at a pivotal moment in Skillsoft’s transformation.
Skillsoft (NYSE: SKIL), the AI-native skills management platform trusted by thousands of organisations worldwide, has appointed Ron Kisling as Chief Financial Officer. Renovata led the retained executive search. Ron joins as Skillsoft sharpens its platform, streamlines its operating model, and builds the financial foundations for its next phase of growth — and he arrives with precisely the background that moment demands.
About Skillsoft
Skillsoft is a global leader in AI-native skills management, trusted by thousands of organisations worldwide to build AI-ready workforces, close critical capability gaps, and prove the impact of learning on business outcomes. Listed on the NYSE, Skillsoft operates at the intersection of enterprise technology and human capital — a market experiencing significant structural change as organisations navigate the transition to the human and AI era.
The business has been executing a focused strategic transformation, streamlining its operating model and sharpening its platform proposition. Ron’s appointment as CFO marks a clear step forward in that journey.
The role
As Chief Financial Officer, Ron will lead Skillsoft’s global finance function, acting as a strategic partner to CEO Ron Hovsepian and the broader leadership team as the business accelerates growth, optimises its operating model, and builds the financial architecture required for its next chapter.
This is a high-impact C-suite appointment at a defining moment. Ron’s remit spans financial strategy, planning and analysis, operational performance management, and investor relations — with a mandate to strengthen financial discipline and drive the rigour and transparency that underpin sustainable, scalable growth in a publicly listed environment.
Ron Kisling: a CFO built for transformation
Ron is a seasoned public company CFO with over 40 years of finance experience, including 15 years in CFO roles at high-growth technology companies. He has built a career at the intersection of financial discipline and operational transformation — precisely the combination Skillsoft needs at this stage of its journey.
He joins Skillsoft from Fastly, the cloud computing services provider, where he served as CFO and led the finance organisation through a period of significant scale and strategic change. Prior to Fastly, Ron held the CFO role at Fitbit, guiding the business through substantial expansion before its acquisition by Google. His experience across both businesses demonstrates a consistent ability to build high-performing finance functions and lead organisations through complexity without losing momentum.
Earlier in his career, Ron held CFO positions at a range of technology businesses including Nanometrics, PGP Corporation, Saba Software, and SPL WorldGroup — building deep expertise in public company financial management, capital markets, and the operational levers that drive performance in software and technology environments.
Ron brings the attributes that high-growth, publicly listed technology businesses most need in a chief financial officer: strategic acumen, operational depth, investor credibility, and the leadership qualities to build and inspire a world-class finance team through transformation. He is recognised for enhancing financial discipline, driving operational rigour, and operating as a trusted and effective partner to the CEO and board.
“I’ve spent my career helping high-growth technology companies build the operational foundation to scale. What drew me to Skillsoft was the clarity of the mission and the momentum already underway.
I also share a core belief: skills are a critical business asset, and they should be managed with the same rigour as anything else on the balance sheet. As AI reshapes how work gets done, organisations that invest seriously in workforce capability will have a true competitive edge. That’s what Skillsoft makes possible, and it’s a vision I’m genuinely excited to help advance.”
— Ron Kisling, Chief Financial Officer, Skillsoft via LinkedIn
Renovata’s perspective
This CFO appointment reflects the quality and complexity of mandate that Renovata is trusted to lead. Identifying the right chief financial officer for a publicly listed technology business navigating strategic transformation requires more than matching a CV to a job description. It demands an understanding of where the business is in its journey, what the board and investors need to see, and what kind of leader can deliver both the short-term rigour and the long-term vision the role requires.
Ron stood out for the breadth and depth of his experience: genuine CFO-level accountability across multiple public company environments, a track record of leading finance organisations through periods of significant change, and the credibility to operate as an equal partner to a CEO and board with high expectations. He brings exactly the right profile for Skillsoft’s next chapter.
This placement is further evidence of Renovata’s ability to identify and secure exceptional C-suite leaders for publicly listed and high-growth technology businesses — connecting the right executive with the right opportunity at the right moment.
“Ron is exactly the kind of CFO appointment that changes the trajectory of a business. He brings 40 years of finance experience, 15 years of it at CFO level in high-growth technology companies, and a genuine track record of leading organisations through transformation without losing operational momentum. What stood out was not just his technical depth but his ability to operate as a true strategic partner to a CEO and board — the quality that separates a great CFO from a good one. We are proud to have placed him at Skillsoft at such a defining moment in the company’s journey.”
— Mannie Gill, Founding Partner, Renovata
Building leadership that drives value creation
The most important hiring decisions a scaling business makes are at the senior leadership level. Getting these decisions right accelerates a range of outcomes: product velocity, team performance, investor confidence, and commercial momentum. Getting these decisions wrong costs time, capital, and competitive ground that is hard to recover.
Renovata partners with investors, board directors, board sponsors, and C-suite leaders at these precise moments — bringing the network, process rigour, and market insight to identify and secure exceptional C-suite and senior leaders that internal teams cannot always reach on their own. Our retained executive search model, built on 20+ years of placing transformational leaders across Europe, the UK, and North America, is designed precisely for moments like this.
Whether you are preparing for a fundraise, entering a new market, scaling your leadership team, or navigating a period of strategic change, the right executive appointment can be the single highest-returning decision you make.
The right leader accelerates your thesis. The wrong one costs you time you don’t have.
Renovata works with PE sponsors, portfolio boards, and operating partners to place the C-suite talent that drives performance and holds up in a sale process. If you have a leadership gap that needs closing, start a conversation with our team.
About Renovata
Renovata is a leading boutique executive search firm specialising in C-suite and senior leadership appointments for private equity, venture capital, and enterprise-backed businesses globally. Underpinned by over 20 years of executive search excellence, we deliver across technology, digital, product, engineering, finance, and commercial functions — with particular depth in high-growth, technology-first businesses at critical stages of scale and value creation.
Our retained executive search model, transatlantic reach, and senior-led process give clients consistent access to a calibre of candidate and quality of counsel that generalist firms cannot match. www.renovata.com
Contact
To discuss a senior leadership or C-suite search mandate, or to learn more about Renovata’s executive search practice:
Mannie Gill
Founding Partner, Renovata
mannie.gill@renovata.com