# Michael Vilardo

> Michael Thomas Vilardo is the Austin-based co-founder and CEO of Subject, an education technology company founded as Emile Learning in 2020. A former Penn and Purdue baseball player and national-team hockey player, he worked in sales and operations at Dispatcher and Uber before earning an MBA at UCLA Anderson. He also hosts On The Subject, interviewing educators, athletes and coaches.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Subject
- **Organizations:** Subject, Uber, Dispatcher Inc., VHomes, HomeTech LLC, NomΛd, UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA Hockey, Colombia Ice Hockey
- **From:** Geneva, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Associate degree in general education, McHenry County College, BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate study in management; degree completion not verified, Purdue University, MBA, entrepreneurship concentration, UCLA Anderson School of Management
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30, Education, Class of 2022., 2020 UC Davis Big Bang! Technology Sector Award, $10,000., Big 5 Rookie of the Year in baseball, 2013.

## Career timeline

- **2009-2010** — Played with the USA U18 hockey program and attended school in Ann Arbor.
- **2012** — Completed an associate degree before enrolling at Penn.
- **2013** — Led the Ivy League in hits with 55 and earned Big 5 Rookie of the Year honors.
- **2014** — Graduated from Penn with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
- **2015** — Joined Purdue baseball as a graduate transfer; earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
- **2015-2016** — Worked in sales and operations at Dispatcher Inc., according to his public work history.
- **2017-2019** — Worked on Uber Freight and Uber New Mobility.
- **2018** — Won the inaugural LATAM Cup with Colombia and led the tournament in goals and points.
- **2019** — Began his UCLA Anderson MBA and developed VHomes.
- **2020** — Won the $10,000 Technology Sector Award at UC Davis Big Bang!; co-founded Emile Learning, incorporated in October.
- **2021** — Completed UCLA Anderson MBA; served as Emile Learning co-founder and COO.
- **2022** — Recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 in Education; Emile became Subject.
- **2025** — Delivered Digital learning is the future at TEDxGrandCanyonUniversity.
- **2026** — Subject announced a $28 million investment led by Vistara Growth.

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30, Education, Class of 2022.
- 2020 UC Davis Big Bang! Technology Sector Award, $10,000.
- Big 5 Rookie of the Year in baseball, 2013.
- Academic All-Big Ten, 2015.
- Colombia 2018 LATAM Cup gold medal; tournament leader in goals and points.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Purdue Athletics featured his On The Subject interview with baseball coach Greg Goff.
- **2026-02** — Subject announced a $28 million investment led by Vistara Growth to support product development and expansion.
- **2025-06** — TEDx Talks published his Digital learning is the future talk on YouTube.

## Links

- Website: https://subject.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefromsubject/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/mikefromsubject
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikefromsubject/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chicagovilardo

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-vilardo
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23