Celebrating wins together
The next step in Harrison
Parker's edtech career
Harrison Parker’s drive for success, insight into education technology and passion for keeping kids safe online make him the perfect VP of Operations at Linewize. While joining a team of industry leaders piqued his interest, it’s the purpose-filled work that keeps him coming back. Harrison established himself as a key member of the NetRef team over his seven-year tenure, and has been instrumental in the successful merge of our two businesses.
Working with impact
We all want to believe we’re making an impact at work. But Harrison Parker and our Linewize team don’t have to imagine - they get to see the results of their work up close and personal.
“It’s nice to be able to go and see the deployment of our products in schools, or to talk to students and teachers who are using our software,” Harrison says. “At Linewize, we’re not removed from the end result. You see the impact you’re having on the students behind the screens. You know you’re going to make a difference on that student's long-term educational path.”
As our VP of Operations, Harrison ensures all our systems and teams function at an optimal level. His easy-going nature means he’s adept at talking with customers and leading our people, while his business savvy ensures he keeps up with our ever-evolving organisation.
"I love interacting with different people and components of the business. Every day is different, particularly now that we’re a global company. From when I open my eyes in the morning until I fall asleep, we’re always working at pace. There is never a moment of boredom."
The pursuit of excellence
Although Harrison is nearing a decade working in the EdTech space, it wasn’t the career he always thought he’d pursue. With a lifelong passion for languages, Harrison travelled extensively during school and spent a semester abroad in college. Alongside his native English, Harrison is also fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational French, which helped him land his first job after graduation.
With his multilingual skill set, Harrison got his foot in the door with an educational language app, working in their sales team. While a love of language initially enticed Harrison into the role, the experience sparked an interest in the world of EdTech.
When we asked Harrison to lead the NetRef journey into the k-12 space, he jumped at the chance. Now, seven years later, he’s seen us through so much - including our recent acquisition by Linewize. Throughout it all, Harrison has been pleasantly surprised by how seamlessly our organisations have merged.
“During the acquisition period, there were a million moving parts. I’m proud of the way we’ve integrated products so that operations from our customers’ perspective stayed the same. The last thing we wanted was for them to feel any impact from internal changes, and I think we’ve done a good job of that so far.”
Maintaining a positive customer experience was important, but it was equally essential that our team had a smooth transition. Harrison tells us this was possible not only because the products are similar, but because the cultures were aligned.
“NetRef and Linewize have similar values, so it feels like a continuation. The value that means the most to me is ‘win together.’ I was inspired to join the team because there’s a lot of talented people who choose to work here. We listen to each other's ideas and work collaboratively because we know it means we deliver a better product. ‘Win together’ isn’t just two words on a website; it’s ingrained in our culture.”
Looking to the future, Harrison believes a future with Linewize holds nothing but excitement and says it’s a great time to join the team.
“Linewize has collected an unrivalled group of A-players who are developing and selling an incredible product. Joining this company is the best decision anyone could make. There’s no comparison.”