Simon Riddlesden has joined ITZA as chief commercial officer, joining from Video Arts, the global e-learning group founded by John Cleese and Sir Anthony Jay in 1972.  

Riddlesden brings 15 years of experience from the learning space, initially at Capita plc as an e-learning designer, before a 10-year stint at Video Arts where he developed and launched the group’s award-winning Software as a Service (SaaS) business.  Colin Ramsay, formerly London Sales Director at STV, has also joined the ITZA team, as Consultant Sales Lead. 

ITZA’s CEO and founder Anthony Bouchier, said: “Simon’s experience will be incredibly valuable as we build out content library, secure further B2B partners, and begin to build ITZA’s go-to-market strategy, and we’re also really pleased to have Colin on board to help support our next phase of growth.”   

ITZA’s One Planet digital resource on climate change and how to protect the planet, based on Sir David Attenborough’s four actions to change the way we live to reduce global warming and preserve the natural world, is being delivered into every Scottish school and an international rollout is being planned for 2025.  

One Planet is being delivered alongside content partners including the BBC, GettyImages, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).  ITZA’s growing list of corporate and not-for-profit partners and supporters includes Scottish Building Society and Switzerland-based Villars Institute.   

In December 2023, ITZA secured £2 million of R&D grant and equity funding from Scottish Enterprise, Alba Equity, and private investors to grow a digital learning, production, and AI analytics hub in Scotland to accelerate independent learning for young people in the 10-16 range. 

ITZA’s web platform empowers young people to learn independently using curated content and personalised analytics. The company’s team of filmmakers, cognitive scientists, educators, and game designers collaborate with global brands and organisations to produce engaging film, games, and other interactive content to complement and extend the school curricula.  

ITZA has embarked on its next external investment round, and has a series of significant partnership announcements over the next few months.