Leadership
Our corporate leaders and experts in early childhood education manage KinderCare’s operations nationally to ensure the highest quality care.
Leadership
Tom Wyatt, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Tom Wyatt is Chief Executive Officer of KinderCare and Chairman of the Board with responsibility for all aspects of the company’s strategy, leadership, governance and operations.
Since becoming CEO in 2012, Tom has transformed the company, leading the executive team in achieving the highest standards of excellence in education. His focus on culture has been marked by record-high levels of employee and customer engagement, resulting in the company earning the Gallup Great Workplace Award for the past five years.
Tom’s career spans more than 30 years of leading successful consumer brands. Prior to joining KinderCare, he was with Gap Inc. where he served as President of the Old Navy division from 2008-2012. Other roles at Gap Inc. included President of GapBody, head of the company’s Outlet division, and serving on the Board of Trustees of Gap Foundation.
Prior to Gap Inc., Tom was President and CEO for Cutter & Buck and President of Warnaco Intimate Apparel. Before that, Tom was President of Vanity Fair Intimates and Vanity Fair Intimates Coalition.
Since becoming CEO in 2012, Tom has transformed the company, leading the executive team in achieving the highest standards of excellence in education. His focus on culture has been marked by record-high levels of employee and customer engagement, resulting in the company earning the Gallup Great Workplace Award for the past five years.
Tom’s career spans more than 30 years of leading successful consumer brands. Prior to joining KinderCare, he was with Gap Inc. where he served as President of the Old Navy division from 2008-2012. Other roles at Gap Inc. included President of GapBody, head of the company’s Outlet division, and serving on the Board of Trustees of Gap Foundation.
Prior to Gap Inc., Tom was President and CEO for Cutter & Buck and President of Warnaco Intimate Apparel. Before that, Tom was President of Vanity Fair Intimates and Vanity Fair Intimates Coalition.
Paul Thompson, President
Paul Thompson is the President of KinderCare, leading center operations, facilities, HR, IT, real estate, strategy, and new center growth functions. Paul has held numerous roles within KinderCare since joining in 2015, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. Since joining KinderCare, he has been instrumental in driving the success of our entire company across all brands. Paul has also been responsible for shaping KinderCare’s enhanced, industry-leading health & safety practices.
Before joining KinderCare, Paul was with Safeway from 2005-2015, starting as the VP of Finance. Over the next eight years, Paul held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility, including Group VP, Financial Planning and Analysis, and SVP, Finance, Pricing and Enterprise Systems. Prior to joining Safeway, Paul worked at Pillsbury for 13 years.
Before joining KinderCare, Paul was with Safeway from 2005-2015, starting as the VP of Finance. Over the next eight years, Paul held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility, including Group VP, Financial Planning and Analysis, and SVP, Finance, Pricing and Enterprise Systems. Prior to joining Safeway, Paul worked at Pillsbury for 13 years.
Marquita Davis, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer
Dr. Marquita Davis is KinderCare’s Chief Academic Officer, overseeing the development of KinderCare’s high-quality educational programs, educator professional development, quality and accreditation initiatives, research and evaluation, inclusion services, and public policy.
Marquita has more than 20 years of experience in early childhood education, non-profit leadership, government and philanthropy, including nearly six years as deputy director of Early Learning at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led the foundation’s multi-state early learning strategy which aims to ensure all young children have access to high-quality, effective and affordable preschool.
Prior to her work at the foundation, Davis was the executive director of a large non-profit agency. At this same agency, she previously served as deputy director of child development services overseeing several early childhood federal programs, including Head Start, Early Head and Child Care Partnerships. Appointed by two governors, Davis also served as the director of finance for the State of Alabama, commissioner for the Alabama Department of Children’s Affairs, and Pre-K director for the state of Alabama.
Jessica Harrah, Chief People Officer
Jessica Harrah is the Chief People Officer for KinderCare, overseeing human resources for the company’s 35,000 employees nationwide. She leads diversity, equity and inclusion, HR operations, talent acquisition, employee experience, employee relations, travel and meetings, talent investment and culture, and litigation functions. Since joining KinderCare in 2005, Jessica has held numerous roles within the company, including SVP of Human Resources, Senior Associate Council, and Staff Attorney.
Jessica’s commitment to improving access to childcare for working families and elevating teachers, many of whom are working moms, is what informed her decision to work in early childhood education. She is a firm believer that engaged teams produce the best work and drive positive outcome s both for the company and for society. Jessica challenges her team to build an environment where people are proud to work and continually pushes for experiences that are authentic to KinderCare’s mission and culture.
Tony Amandi, Chief Financial Officer
Tony Amandi is the Chief Financial Officer of KinderCare, leading the accounting, treasury, control, internal audit, tax and risk, external reporting, finance, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), information systems and procurement functions. Prior to his promotion to CFO in June of 2019, Tony served as the senior vice president of KinderCare’s FP&A organization and was previously Corporate Controller.
Before joining KinderCare in 2009, Tony worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for nearly 10 years in their Audit and Assurance practice. He also served as the project leader for a Fortune 100 company during the first year of 404 controls implementation and integrated audit approach and lead the audit and advisory engagements of public and non-public, multinational and multilocation companies.
Before joining KinderCare in 2009, Tony worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for nearly 10 years in their Audit and Assurance practice. He also served as the project leader for a Fortune 100 company during the first year of 404 controls implementation and integrated audit approach and lead the audit and advisory engagements of public and non-public, multinational and multilocation companies.
Dr. Elanna S. Yalow, Ph.D., M.B.A., Vice Chair and Senior Advisor
Dr. Elanna Yalow is Vice Chair and Senior Advisor of KinderCare with over 30 years of experience with the company, formerly serving as its Chief Academic Officer.
In her current role, Elanna works closely with stakeholders actively engaged in policies and practices that support working families including local, state, and federal agencies, early childhood education providers and advocacy partners. She also helps advance the quality of KinderCare’s unique educational offerings and supports the company's ongoing new business development efforts.
Prior to joining KinderCare, Elanna was Associate Director of IOX Assessment Associates, serving as Project Director for educational assessment and health education research and development projects. She is actively engaged in educational policy at the federal and state level. She has testified on Capitol Hill about the importance of quality early childhood education and participated in White House-led initiatives. In 2020, she was appointed by the Governor of Oregon to its Task Force on Access to Quality Affordable Child Care. She publishes and presents extensively on issues related to educational policy and practice, both globally and domestically.
Elanna is a Board member of Guardian Child Care and Education, a child care company operating in Australia, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She holds both a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.