Eric Rajasalu
Vice President of Enrollment & Strategic Development at University of Silicon Valley- Claim this Profile
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Mihaela Tanasescu
Eric is a fantastic leader and colleague. In his Senior VP and COO capacity at Trident University, he was extraordinarily collaborative, supportive, innovative, and results-oriented. The way he approached his position made it easy for everyone to succeed, throughout the institution, not just in Marketing, Admissions, or Student Success. My team of academics benefited from his willingness to provide expert help and we found it very useful that he instilled the same spirit among his reports. Eric was instrumental in both enrollment and student achievement gains, developing talent, driving engagement, and having an unequaled understanding of trends in the industry. There is also a special touch that he brings to the community, a rare and special interpersonal savvy that creates a culture of mutual support and respect. It is such a pleasure and honor to recommend him.
Aravinda Vanga
I had the privilege of working with Eric for over 3 years. In this time, he was invaluable in managing the Admissions, Marketing and Outreach departments. He is a well-grounded, creative, responsive and detail-oriented person. Eric is an expert in higher education who can wear many hats without wavering from his primary responsibilities. He is intelligent, thoughtful and an excellent communicator. Eric has a highly developed business acumen and has proven himself time and again to be an incredibly valuable asset. He would make an excellent addition to any team.
Mihaela Tanasescu
Eric is a fantastic leader and colleague. In his Senior VP and COO capacity at Trident University, he was extraordinarily collaborative, supportive, innovative, and results-oriented. The way he approached his position made it easy for everyone to succeed, throughout the institution, not just in Marketing, Admissions, or Student Success. My team of academics benefited from his willingness to provide expert help and we found it very useful that he instilled the same spirit among his reports. Eric was instrumental in both enrollment and student achievement gains, developing talent, driving engagement, and having an unequaled understanding of trends in the industry. There is also a special touch that he brings to the community, a rare and special interpersonal savvy that creates a culture of mutual support and respect. It is such a pleasure and honor to recommend him.
Aravinda Vanga
I had the privilege of working with Eric for over 3 years. In this time, he was invaluable in managing the Admissions, Marketing and Outreach departments. He is a well-grounded, creative, responsive and detail-oriented person. Eric is an expert in higher education who can wear many hats without wavering from his primary responsibilities. He is intelligent, thoughtful and an excellent communicator. Eric has a highly developed business acumen and has proven himself time and again to be an incredibly valuable asset. He would make an excellent addition to any team.
Mihaela Tanasescu
Eric is a fantastic leader and colleague. In his Senior VP and COO capacity at Trident University, he was extraordinarily collaborative, supportive, innovative, and results-oriented. The way he approached his position made it easy for everyone to succeed, throughout the institution, not just in Marketing, Admissions, or Student Success. My team of academics benefited from his willingness to provide expert help and we found it very useful that he instilled the same spirit among his reports. Eric was instrumental in both enrollment and student achievement gains, developing talent, driving engagement, and having an unequaled understanding of trends in the industry. There is also a special touch that he brings to the community, a rare and special interpersonal savvy that creates a culture of mutual support and respect. It is such a pleasure and honor to recommend him.
Aravinda Vanga
I had the privilege of working with Eric for over 3 years. In this time, he was invaluable in managing the Admissions, Marketing and Outreach departments. He is a well-grounded, creative, responsive and detail-oriented person. Eric is an expert in higher education who can wear many hats without wavering from his primary responsibilities. He is intelligent, thoughtful and an excellent communicator. Eric has a highly developed business acumen and has proven himself time and again to be an incredibly valuable asset. He would make an excellent addition to any team.
Mihaela Tanasescu
Eric is a fantastic leader and colleague. In his Senior VP and COO capacity at Trident University, he was extraordinarily collaborative, supportive, innovative, and results-oriented. The way he approached his position made it easy for everyone to succeed, throughout the institution, not just in Marketing, Admissions, or Student Success. My team of academics benefited from his willingness to provide expert help and we found it very useful that he instilled the same spirit among his reports. Eric was instrumental in both enrollment and student achievement gains, developing talent, driving engagement, and having an unequaled understanding of trends in the industry. There is also a special touch that he brings to the community, a rare and special interpersonal savvy that creates a culture of mutual support and respect. It is such a pleasure and honor to recommend him.
Aravinda Vanga
I had the privilege of working with Eric for over 3 years. In this time, he was invaluable in managing the Admissions, Marketing and Outreach departments. He is a well-grounded, creative, responsive and detail-oriented person. Eric is an expert in higher education who can wear many hats without wavering from his primary responsibilities. He is intelligent, thoughtful and an excellent communicator. Eric has a highly developed business acumen and has proven himself time and again to be an incredibly valuable asset. He would make an excellent addition to any team.
Experience
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University of Silicon Valley
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Higher Education
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100 - 200 Employee
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Vice President of Enrollment & Strategic Development
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Jun 2020 - Present
Responsible for leading enrollment growth through Admissions, Marketing, Outreach and Partnerships, and Strategic Development.
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Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Development
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Jan 2020 - May 2020
Drove growth through efficient new inquiry generation and new program development through digital marketing and high school outreach.
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Vice President of Marketing
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Jan 2019 - Dec 2019
Generate new inquiries and ultimately enrollment growth through digital direct response marketing, branding, public relations, and outreach.
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Trident University International
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United States
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Higher Education
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200 - 300 Employee
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Chief Operating Officer
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Sep 2017 - Oct 2018
Effectively managed University resources to increase overall enrollment and provide a superior student experience to drive referrals. Motivated and lead high-performance student-facing management teams. Performance accountability utilizing approved measurements of all processes as well as complete and accurate reporting and forecasting on all front-end operating conditions.
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Senior Vice President of Marketing, Admissions, and Outreach
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Jul 2015 - Aug 2017
Provided leadership over front-end new and continuing student operations. Generated new student inquiries through effective use of marketing and outreach resources. Oversaw the development and implementation of Trident's differentiation strategy.
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Consultant, Marketing & Admissions
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Mar 2015 - Jun 2015
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Thinktomi
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United States
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Education Management
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1 - 100 Employee
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Co-founder
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Aug 2013 - Jul 2015
Co-founded this start-up to provide concise, high impact, skills-based education leveraging a custom built dynamic content platform to help individuals launch a start-up or scale a small business. Co-developed content for our platform and facilitated live classes with students from around the world. Co-founded this start-up to provide concise, high impact, skills-based education leveraging a custom built dynamic content platform to help individuals launch a start-up or scale a small business. Co-developed content for our platform and facilitated live classes with students from around the world.
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Heald College
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Higher Education
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Senior Vice President, Marketing and Admissions
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Oct 2011 - Mar 2013
Led geographically dispersed admissions and marketing organization through extensive and rapid change post acquisiition. Reduced marketing spend by 18% over two years by partnering with agencies and acquiring company. Served as focal point for government regulatory affairs, including Cal Grants, Program Integrity Regulations with Federal Disclosures.
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Vice President of Marketing
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Jul 2007 - Sep 2011
Efficiently spent $16 million to generate quality inquiries that led to significant new student growth. Managed internal and external media partners to ensure targets were achieved in a compliant manner. Actively participated in Program Review and Institutional Effectiveness to meet the standards of the institution's regional accreditation through WASC.
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Senior Vice President, Business Development
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Jul 2006 - Jun 2007
Managed corporate and community relations for the entire 11 campus system during a complex transition from a struggling nonprofit entity to a for profit limited liability company. Build relationships with Kaiser Permanente to lay the groundwork for growth the the college's healthcare vertical. Partnered with each campus to launch and/or grow the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) student population to offset 90/10 regulation risk.
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Senior Vice President of Admissions
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Oct 2003 - Jun 2006
Originally hired as Corporate Director of Admissions. Led all aspects of admissions for this 140 year old, eleven-campus, private, nonprofit, career college system during a volatile time. Mitigated the impact of a 27% reduction in marketing spend to just a 14% decrease in new student enrollments. Co-designed and implemented a new compensation structure in an effort to decrease turnover and increase productivity.
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Staples
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United States
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Retail Office Equipment
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700 & Above Employee
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Vice President of Strategic Accounts / Director of Sales
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May 1999 - Oct 2003
Formerly Corporate Express. As VPSA I was responsible for strategic accounts exceeding one million in revenue including Sun Microsystems, Kaiser Permanente, Oracle, and Deloitte & Touche. As Director of Sales, I managed sales offices in the North Bay, East Bay, South Bay (different times) with revenues over $66 million.
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Sales Manager / Regional Manager of Training & Development
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Mar 1997 - Apr 1999
Formerly Corporate Express. Responsible for developing a successful team of commission-based sales representatives for the Northern California Division. Ranked #3 sales manager in the U.S. for exceeding quota by 130%. Co-developed an innovative and successful college recruiting program called The Talent Factory. Regional responsibilities for deploying and training sales representatives and managers in the Western Region on our new ERP system, sales and negotiation skills, as well as Microsoft Office. Show less
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Account Executive
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Jan 1996 - Feb 1997
Formerly BT Office Products, then Corporate Express. Developed $960,000 territory in first year as a commission-based sales representative. Ranked #1 in my class for exceeding quota by 156%. Initiated and developed a weekly newsletter for our customers.
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Education
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1993 - 1994
San Diego State University
Master of Arts, Education (Multicultural Counseling) -
1988 - 1993
San Diego State University
Bachelor of Arts, International Business (Spanish, Latin America)
Community
