Chief Executive Officer

Leigh-Ellen Louie is the Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Education, one of the largest early childhood educators in the country.  Leigh-Ellen has more than 25 years of experience in multi-site consumer service businesses, with a career encompassing general management and strategy roles in industries such as education, consumer health, retail, hospitality and leisure. Her career has focused on enhancing customer experiences, developing strong teams, and delivering business growth. 

Prior to joining Cadence, Leigh-Ellen held positions of CEO, COO and President and has served on multiple boards as an independent director.  Notably, she was COO of Learning Care Group where she oversaw approximately 1,000 early childhood education centers via a portfolio of 5 brands, and a team of 17,000 employees including field management, school directors and teachers, and education, compliance, facilities and call center teams.

Previously, Leigh-Ellen was President of Kaplan Test Prep with more than 350 locations and 10,000 employees, as the company began the transition to technology-enabled learning. She joined Kaplan in 1999 as President of Kaplan Medical, subsequently adding responsibility for Kaplan English Programs, overseas licensing, US Field Operations, education/product development, call centers and marketing.  

Her early career included operating and strategy roles for the Walt Disney Company, Spirit Cruises, A.T. Kearney consulting, and Bullock’s Department Stores.  Leigh-Ellen has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

In their spare time, Leigh-Ellen and her husband spend as much time as possible with their families in Los Angeles and New York. She enjoys basketball when the Lakers are winning, and discovering great ethnic food restaurants.