Frances Harari is Lynx’s Head of Operations. In this inaugural edition of the Lynx Spotlight series, she shares her perspective on education as a benefit — and why these perks are crucial to meaningful career mobility.
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Frances Harari. I am American and grew up in North Carolina, and then spent some time in New York before I moved to Paris, where I am now based. My official role at Lynx is Head of Operations, but I wear many hats!
Most of my time is spent working with teams across the organization to define and implement the systems and processes that drive our operations at Lynx, but I also work on building and growing partnerships with Lynx Learning Partners and clients.
Why did you join Lynx?
I joined Lynx for two reasons: first and foremost because I am deeply passionate about promoting access to education, and I was inspired by Lynx’s focus on driving career mobility for working adults that are often left behind by traditional employer L&D initiatives. Secondly, I loved the idea of working for a fast-paced, female-led start-up and getting the opportunity to learn and grow under the leadership of Lynx’s amazing co-founders.
What has been your favorite Lynx moment to date?
There have been so many! One of my favorites was the launch day for one of our biggest clients to date, Deliveroo. The whole team had worked tirelessly on preparing for the launch, obsessing over all of the details, big and small. I remember what it felt like to see the first learner sign up on the platform, which quickly turned into hundreds and then thousands of active users in a matter of days. It was so cool to see the team’s hard work turn into a reality of extending access to top quality learning programmes to thousands of learners.
What does “education as a benefit” mean to you?
Education as a benefit means employers demonstrating their commitment to investing in their employees by providing equitable access to educational opportunities that lead to meaningful skilling and career mobility.
If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one new skill, what would it be — and why?
Unrealistic answer: to be able to speak and write all languages in the world completely fluently. The realistic version of this would be to become an exceptional communicator. To me, human skills like effective, empathetic communication are becoming increasingly critical to double down on in order to thrive in an increasingly automated and uncertain world of work.
