D2L Connection: Melbourne

Rebecca Early

Kaiārahi-a-motu National Leader of Learning, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu

Rebecca Early is the National Leader of Learning at Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu and a senior education leader with over two decades of experience across secondary, online, and system‑level contexts. Her work is distinguished by a strong commitment to evidence‑informed practice, equity, and the design of personalised digital learning experiences at scale. She has led multiple nationwide initiatives, including the co‑design of Te Kura’s Ākonga and Whānau Welcome Module, a comprehensive website redesign, and strategic literacy and numeracy acceleration programmes with demonstrable learner impact.

Rebecca’s leadership is characterised by co‑innovation and future‑focused design, including the exploration of AI‑enabled tools and human‑centred onboarding pathways that honour learner identity and agency. She holds a Master of Educational Leadership and is currently undertaking doctoral research examining the neurodiverse learner experience within online education. Through her work, Rebecca continues to contribute to the development of coherent, connected digital ecosystems that strengthen engagement, belonging, and learner success across a national education context.

Deanna Varga (MBA, GAICD)

CEO & Founder, Mayvin Global

Deanna Varga MBA, GAICD is CEO and Founder of Mayvin Global, a boutique consultancy that advises associations, government and SMEs on revenue growth, commercial sustainability and risk mitigation. With more than 25 years’ experience across associations, business events, tourism, government and the arts, she is known for practical strategies that help purpose-led organisations strengthen their value proposition and build more sustainable income streams. Her work includes helping associations leverage education, learning and training as both a member value driver and a commercial opportunity. Deanna is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney.

Christian Pantel

Chief Product Officer , D2L

Christian was appointed Chief Product Officer in 2024. He leads global Product Strategy, Product Management, Product Design, User Experience Research and Accessibility at D2L. Christian first joined the company in 2015 and has expanded his leadership in product, design, and engineering. He has extensive experience in Education Technology and knows D2L customers well. With deep empathy for diverse learners and educators, Christian has led D2L to develop products with a world-class user experience.

Christian has over 25 years of leadership experience building software at notable enterprise software companies including Workday, Infor, and PeopleSoft. Christian earned a Master of Science in computing science from Simon Fraser University, specialising in human-computer interaction and Web-based learning environments. He also holds a Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) from the University of Manitoba. Christian lives in Winnipeg with his wife and four children.

Brian Finnerty

Chief Marketing Officer, D2L

Brian is a dynamic marketing leader with extensive experience building successful go-to-market teams. He believes in the transformative power of marketing, leveraging a potent combination of brand strength, targeted demand generation, tight sales alignment, and compelling customer stories.

Prior to D2L, Brian has held pivotal leadership roles at high growth companies including Udacity, Demandbase, Marin Software, and Skillsoft. He has been a driving force behind aligning sales and marketing around a bold and compelling message – resulting in quality pipeline generation, increased bookings, and strong customer retention.

Brian has an unshakable belief that marketing offers one of the most enjoyable and rewarding careers available. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, three boys, and a very friendly chocolate labrador.

Stewart Watts

SVP – EMEA & APAC, D2L

Stewart Watts is Senior Vice President, EMEA & APAC Sales, at D2L. He leads the company’s commercial activities east of the Americas—across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.

A graduate of The University of Nottingham, Stewart holds an MA (Hons) in Hispanic Studies and has worked in the software industry within education and learning since 2011. Stewart moved to D2L in January 2016 having previously spent close to five years at software and services firm Blackbaud Inc., where he ran commercial operations within the European division.

Stewart was brought up in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in the north of England and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two children. Stewart describes himself as a “spare bedroom musician,” a “wannabe Tiger Woods,” and a “long-suffering Manchester United fan,” with his passions for music, golf and football taking up the majority of his free time.

Glen Luttrell

Senior Solutions Engineer, D2L

Glen has over 20 years of experience in educational technology roles in the public sector, vocational education and higher education. His primary focus has been the development of high-quality online learning experiences using a variety of technologies. In his current role as a Senior Solutions Engineer at D2L – Glen works closely with a number of associations, as well as other D2L clients, to understand their online learning needs and ensure that the perfect solution is provided.

Jonathan Holtby

Director of Product for Artificial Intelligence, D2L

Jonathan Holtby is the Director of Product for Artificial Intelligence at D2L working to develop knowledge systems, advanced content generation, and adaptive and dynamic learning implementations for millions of learners across the globe.

Jonathan has been leading AI initiatives as an engineer, product leader, and CEO since 2014, building complex systems and prediction models in human resources, personal health, and education, and in 2023 he was the developer of an award-winning system to predict advanced academic outcomes from the data generated playing video games.

Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Toronto and of Bond University in Australia, and his also a father of two and an Opera singer.