APUS President Nuno Fernandes is a visionary leader who has been successful in making online higher education more affordable and accessible, while delivering top-quality education and favorable student outcomes. As the fifth President of APUS, he is focused on a global digital journey that integrates personalized, collaborative, technology-driven learning experiences to prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities.

Mr. Fernandes has a wealth of experience driving innovation across higher education, technology, and business. He has been serving as APUS President since September 2022.

Previously, Mr. Fernandes was president and CEO of Ilumno, the largest online program manager in Latin America, and among the top 3 globally (in terms of managed students, which numbered 300,000). He served in several roles with increasing responsibilities at the company for over a decade. Mr. Fernandes was instrumental in improving student retention, student satisfaction, graduation rates, and reputation at the company’s owned and partner universities. He also led efforts to expand access to higher education in several countries.

Prior to his roles in higher education, Mr. Fernandes accumulated over a decade of experience in the consumer goods industry at Bosch, where he undertook numerous international assignments and held various leadership roles.

Born in Porto, Portugal, Mr. Fernandes holds a Master of Business Administration from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Porto. He has also participated in several executive education programs at Harvard Business School and Carnegie Mellon University, among others.

Mr. Fernandes is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

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Rohit Gupta provides his vision to the Aretum in meeting our customer’s missions through the use of digital transformation and emerging technologies. He has a strong belief in, and works towards building, an Aretum company culture where we value and respect our employees, and help them succeed in delivering for our customers. Rohit believes in building strong leaders that have similarly aligned visions as part of the Aretum leadership team.

Having been a systems architect for many large commercial and government programs, Rohit is a recognized expert in the fields of scalable systems, large web application design and development, mobile development, AI and machine learning, and CIO operations. Throughout his career, Rohit has worked with numerous government and commercial IT clients, consulting with some of the biggest names in the world — AT&T, Federal Express, Capital One, PerotSystems/TRC, and Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Rohit graduated from the University of Mumbai with a B.E. in Computer Engineering and received an M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Connecticut. Rohit is passionate about using technology to build efficient and elegant solutions for business and social challenges.

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Joe Punaro is the CEO and Founder of IronArch Technology. He is a decorated combat Veteran and a former U.S. Marine platoon commander whose leadership philosophy is grounded in service, integrity, and people-first values. After serving in Iraq, Joe launched IronArch with a clear mission: to serve our nation by protecting its critical infrastructure through cutting-edge technology and human-centered innovation.

His military experience shaped a leadership style rooted in the principle, “Know your Marines and look out for their welfare.” At IronArch, this evolved into a company-wide commitment to empowering people—employees, clients, and partners alike. Joe’s passion for entrepreneurship and national service drives his strategic vision
and his belief that taking care of the team is essential to mission success.

Under Joe’s leadership, IronArch has become known for its commitment to excellence, agile solutions, and a workplace where people feel valued and trust and innovation are embedded.

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