Matt Given

Chief Executive Officer Seesaw Learning

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Matt Given is Chief Executive Officer of Seesaw, the San Francisco company whose learning experience platform is built for students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. It combines classroom learning tools, digital curriculum, family communication and student portfolios. Seesaw grew very fast during the pandemic, when elementary schools went remote. It has been backed by Providence Equity since 2021, and Given has led it into a slower phase for US edtech: federal stimulus money for school districts has ended, and he has pointed the company toward international markets and acquisitions. A former teacher, he previously ran the professional certification group CeriFi and held senior roles across the education industry.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of Seesaw, whose leadership page describes it as the only learning experience platform developed specifically for PreK-5 students.
• Led Seesaw’s first acquisition under Providence Equity, of Amman-based Arabic literacy company Little Thinking Minds, announced in April 2025.
• Previously CEO of CeriFi, a portfolio of training and certification companies serving financial planning, insurance and securities professionals.
• Earlier held C-level positions at education businesses including Glynlyon, Catapult Learning, EdisonLearning and Kaplan.
• Testified on the reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act before the full U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and has lectured on education policy at Tufts University.

Professional Journey

Given began his career as a teacher and moved into management and then senior leadership in education companies. Seesaw says that over the following decade he held C-level positions at Glynlyon, Catapult Learning, EdisonLearning and Kaplan. Alongside that work he built a record in education policy. He influenced legislation in several states and testified on the reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act before a full committee hearing of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and he has lectured on education policy at Tufts.

Before Seesaw he was chief executive of CeriFi, which brings together training and certification companies for financial planning, insurance and securities professionals.

At Seesaw he took over a business whose growth had been shaped by the pandemic. The platform spread quickly when elementary schools had to teach remotely, and when he spoke to Mergermarket in May 2025, about a third of US elementary schools used it. It was in more than half of Australian elementary schools and reached over 25 million users in around 150 countries. He also said US growth had levelled off as federal stimulus funding for districts ran out, and that he expected revenue of about $60 million in 2025, roughly flat on 2024.

His answer has been to look abroad. In April 2025 Seesaw announced its first acquisition since Providence invested: Little Thinking Minds, an Amman-based company founded in 2004 that makes Arabic literacy curriculum and assessment tools. Given described it as a way to bring localized, high-impact learning to more students and teachers. He told Mergermarket that the company was looking at further acquisitions, particularly in non-English-speaking markets.

Education

University of Georgia

Psychology