Chris Lynne has spent more than 20 years in higher education, championing career-focused education for nontraditional students. As the first in his immediate family to benefit from higher education, Chris has dedicated his career to expanding pathways for underserved and marginalized students to achieve career and social mobility.

Chris has served as president of University of Phoenix since 2022, a position he was elevated to after joining the university in 2018 as CFO. Chris has collaborated with the executive team of the university to advance its transformation, which has included broadening its focus beyond degrees to include innovative career mobility solutions for students, alumni and employers. During his tenure, the university has achieved pivotal improvements in student retention, graduation rates and satisfaction.

A seasoned executive in higher education, Chris previously served in leadership roles at Northcentral University, where he led the university through a period of change and growth as the COO and CFO, at HotChalk as President and COO, and as owner of Transcend Education Group.

Chris holds a B.S. in Accounting from Purdue University and an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.