Rackspace Cloud University Earns Bronze Brandon Hall Learning Excellence Award

Rackspace Cloud University (CloudU) earned a bronze award for excellence in the Best Custom Content category on September 10 as part of the 20th Annual Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards.

CloudU is a free vendor-neutral cloud education program developed by Rackspace and industry analysts for students, business decision makers and IT professionals who want to learn about the cloud and related topics. Since moving the program to a social learning management system (LMS) this year and adding new course offerings in the form of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), the program has averaged over 1,000 new registered users every month.

We’re very pleased to be recognized by the Brandon Hall Group in the Best Custom Content category. We collaborate with the brightest minds in academia and the cloud industry to create unique and engaging learning experiences for the global CloudU audience and we feel this award is a reflection of those efforts.

The award-winning entries – the updated CloudU Certification program and Introduction to Web Hosting MOOC – were evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Innovation
  • Fit the need
  • Program design
  • Functionality
  • Overall measurable benefits

The Brandon Hall Group is a preeminent research and analyst firm with data and expertise in learning and development, talent management, leadership, talent acquisition and human resources. Now entering its 20th year, the Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards Program is considered the most prestigious awards program in the learning industry. The awards, often referred to as the “Academy Awards” by learning, talent and business executives, recognize the best organizations that have successfully deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems and tools that have achieved measurable results.

Entries for the award were judged by a select panel of industry professionals, including Brandon Hall Executive Leadership, university professors, business and technology executives and instructional designers from corporations, nonprofits and government organizations around the globe. Check out the complete list of winners here: http://go.brandonhall.com/past_award_winners

“I’m honored to recognize this group of elite organizations with phenomenal programs across Human Capital Management (HCM) functions. The winners truly exemplified excellence around the critical business dimensions across the award categories, including a high standard of performance in their organization and demonstrated clear, measurable business results through these innovative programs,” said Rachel Cooke, COO of Brandon Hall Group.

Originally published on the Rackspace blog

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Mike Cooke

Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Hall Group Mike Cooke Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Mike Cooke was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AC Growth. Mike held leadership and executive positions for the majority of his career, at which he was responsible for steering sales and marketing teams to drive results and profitability. His background includes more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations in the research, consulting, software and technology industries. Mike has extensive experience in sales, marketing and management having worked for several early high-growth emerging businesses and has implemented technology systems to support various critical sales, finance, marketing and client service functions. He is especially skilled in organizing the sales and service strategy to fully support a company’s growth strategy. The concept of growth was an absolute to Mike and a motivator in starting AC Growth, in order to help organizations achieve research driven results. Most recently, Mike was the VP and General Manager of Field Operations at Bersin & Associates, a global analyst and consulting services firm focused on all areas of enterprise learning, talent management and talent acquisition. Tasked with leading the company’s global expansion, Mike led all sales operations worldwide. During Mike’s tenure, the company has grown into a multi-national firm, conducting business in over 45 countries with over 4,500 multi-national organizations. Mike started his career at MicroVideo Learning Systems in 1992, eventually holding a senior management position and leading all corporate sales before founding Dynamic Minds. Mike was CEO and Co-Founder of Dynamic Minds, a custom developer of software programs, working with clients like Goldman Sachs, Prentice Hall, McGraw Hill and Merrill Lynch. Also, Mike worked for Oddcast, a leading provider of customer experience and marketing solutions, where he held a senior management position leading the company into new markets across various industries. Mike also serves on the Advisory Board for Carbon Solutions America, an independent sustainability consulting and carbon management firm that specializes in the design and implementation of greenhouse reduction and sustainability plans as well as managing the generation of carbon and renewal energy and energy efficiency credits. Mike attended University of Phoenix, studying Business Administration and Finance. He has also completed executive training at the Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL.