Leadership Bios

Peter DeVries | Chief Executive Officer

Peter DeVries has been innovating across the technology space for 25 years, focused on building industry leading and enterprise-scale SaaS products. Since 2008, Peter has been a leader in the EdTech industry, serving in a variety of executive leadership roles with Modern Campus, including President and COO since 2018. He was integral in the company’s rebranding, and in acquiring and integrating 7 companies to form the higher education industry’s leading modern learner engagement platform. Peter earned his Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo, with joint honors in Computer Science and Economics. He’s also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional and Risk Management Professional, among numerous professional designations.

Jessica Phinn | Chief People Officer

Jessica Phinn joined Modern Campus in 2022 as the Chief People Officer. Previously, Jessica was the Senior Vice President of People and Engagement for Nelson Education, where she was also Vice President and Director of People and Engagement. Jessica was also the Senior Director of Human Resources for Loblaw Companies Limited, one of the largest supermarket operators in Canada, and the Human Resources Manager for Pepsi Bottling Group. Jessica has a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources from York University, and studied Chemistry at Western University. 

Mark Triest | Chief Business Officer

Mark Triest joined Modern Campus in December 2018 as Chief Business Officer, with 30 years of industry experience. He is a passionate and experienced education technology executive, advisor, and investor, and has held senior executive positions at leading EdTech companies including Ellucian, Ex Libris, and DIGARC. Mark is also an advisor at LearnLaunch, the Boston-based EdTech accelerator, where he mentors education start-up companies. Mark received his Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University.

Rick Bakewell | Chief Financial Officer

Rick Bakewell is the Chief Financial Officer of Modern Campus since joining in early 2022. He oversees all financial aspects of Modern Campus, including finance, accounting, tax, treasury and legal. He has a wealth of experience across more than 25 years in technology and services industries, specializing in operational efficiency improvements, financing and capital raising initiatives, and mergers and acquisitions. He most recently served as chief financial officer at Benefitexpress, a cloud-based benefits administration technology and human resources services provider (acquired by WEX Inc.). Prior CFO roles include Fruition Partners (acquired by DXC Technology), NTT Data Americas, The Revere Group, and others. He is a Certified Public Accountant and received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Yves Lempereur | Chief Product Architect

Yves has held a primary development role at Modern Campus—and its predecessor OmniUpdate—since 2001. Between 1982 and 2001, he played a leadership role in the technical development of many successful Mainstay products. He invented the BinHex (hex) protocol for the Macintosh in 1985. An Internet visionary, Yves helped to create several breakthrough products and continues to guide OmniUpdate’s technological advancements. He holds his BS in Electrical Engineering from I.S.I.E.M in Belgium.

Wai-Kau Lo | Chief Architect