Fuel50 names Jo Mills CEO after Phoenix Education Partners acquisition, as Anne Fulton steps down

Fuel50 has appointed co-founder and President Jo Mills as its new Chief Executive Officer following the completion of its acquisition by Phoenix Education Partners, Inc., as co-founder Anne Fulton steps down from the role, as per the LinkedIn post.

The workforce transformation platform announced the leadership transition alongside the closing of the transaction. 

Fuel50 will continue to operate under its existing brand as a distinct business within Phoenix Education Partners, serving global enterprise customers and advancing its workforce intelligence, skills, talent mobility and workforce transformation capabilities.

Leadership transition follows acquisition

Fulton, who co-founded Fuel50 said, “I am enormously proud of what our team has built and of the customers, partners, investors and industry leaders who believed in this mission alongside us. 

“Phoenix Education Partners brings the scale, reach and commitment to workforce development that can take this vision much further,” she added.

“This is the right moment for Fuel50 to begin its next chapter — and for me to step away from executive leadership knowing the company, its people and its mission have an exciting future ahead,” she further said. 

Fuel50 Executive Chairman Andrew Filipowski, a veteran technology entrepreneur, credited Fulton with anticipating key shifts in workforce management, including employee-driven career development, skills-based workforce decisions and the changing nature of work amid artificial intelligence adoption.

“Great founders don't simply build products — they see shifts in the world before they become obvious and build companies around those convictions,” said Filipowski. 

“Anne has done that repeatedly. She saw early that careers needed to become more employee-driven, that skills would become the currency of workforce decisions, and now that AI requires us to understand work at the level of tasks and human contribution,” he added.

“She has built a company with a genuine point of view about the future of people and work. Joining Phoenix Education Partners provides Fuel50 with an extraordinary platform from which to take that thinking forward,” further noted.

“Anne leaves an enduring legacy in Fuel50, but I suspect her contribution to this industry is far from finished,” he also added.

Focus on skills and workforce transformation

The acquisition brings together Fuel50’s workforce intelligence and transformation capabilities with Phoenix Education Partners’ focus on education, skills and workforce development.

The companies aim to connect insights into how work is changing with the skills, development opportunities and career pathways employees need to remain relevant in an AI-enabled economy.

Fuel50’s capabilities span skills intelligence, talent mobility and workforce transformation, helping organisations understand employee capabilities and make more informed decisions about talent development and workforce planning.

Jo Mills to lead next phase

Mills, who previously served as Fuel50’s co-founder and President, will lead the company as it enters its next phase under Phoenix Education Partners. 

She said the business would continue to build on its founding focus on human potential and employee career agency.

“Anne and I built Fuel50 around a deeply shared belief in human potential and the importance of giving people greater agency over their working lives,” said Mills. 

“The best way we can honor that founding vision is to keep evolving it. As we begin this next chapter with Phoenix Education Partners, I’m excited to lead Fuel50 forward with our team, customers and partners,” she pointed out.

“Together, we can help organizations make better choices about people, capability and work as AI reshapes the workforce,” she concluded.

Fuel50’s integration into Phoenix Education Partners comes as organisations increasingly focus on skills-based talent strategies, internal mobility and workforce planning to address the impact of AI and changing business requirements.