John Zappa is the Director of Product Management at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute. In this role, he is responsible for developing and promoting services that help the organization fulfill its mission to train and empower the manufacturing workforce for careers in robotics. An industry expert on lifelong learning, John has spoken at numerous industry conferences including Chief Learning Officer Symposium, Society of Human Resource Management, and The Conference Board, and has co-authored articles on corporate tuition assistance programs and talent management. During his career, he helped to found and serve as CEO of EdLink, LLC a leading provider of tuition assistance management services. Under John’s leadership, EdLink grew to manage over $220 million in education funding. The firm was acquired by the Fortune 500 firm Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM). A pioneer in the field, he created the industry’s first education network to address the rising cost of education for adult learners. It is now considered the industry standard. With thirty years’ experience, John has built and led marketing, operations, and product management teams in software-based companies across multiple industries. John began his career at IBM implementing robotics as a manufacturing engineer. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree with University Honors in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and his MBA from Dartmouth College.