Spring 2024 Commencement Speaker

Ronald “Ron” Chandler
Leader, U.S. Education Business Apple Inc.

Ronald “Ron” Chandler leads customer engagement for U.S. education business at Apple Inc. In this role, he is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with senior leaders across K-12 and higher education institutions.

Prior to Apple, Chandler was the chief information technology officer at the Harvard Business School. He held a similar role at the UCLA Anderson School. Before becoming a higher education CIO, he led technology for the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the U.S.

Chandler serves on the board of directors for the Savings Bank Mutual Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts, where he chairs the innovation and technology committee. He is also on the advisory board for WGBH Boston, a public media organization.

As the former chairman of the K-12 National Advisory Council on Cybersecurity, Chandler spent time in Washington visiting with FCC commissioners, Department of Homeland Security senior leaders, and several members of Congress to advocate for increasing digital connectivity and cybersecurity resources in education across the U.S.

Many technology companies have been advised by Chandler. These include Intel Education, Clever, iboss Cybersecurity and HeliosEd.com. He was also a mentor at the prestigious GSVlabs in Silicon Valley. He is often found delivering talks at industry events on technology leadership, digital transformation and improving cybersecurity hygiene within organizations.

Chandler, who is based in San Jose, California, is a member of the Wall Street Journal CIO Network and has been recognized as one of the Big Ten Most Influential People in Technology and Learning magazine.

Chandler received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Southern University and A&M College and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Most importantly, Chandler is the son of an elementary and special education teacher who taught for more than 40 years. He is married and a proud father of two young adult sons.