Across 30 years, Bernadette Gratton has established a distinguished reputation in higher education technology and operational transformation. Since 2020, she has served as the operating executive for post-acquisition stabilization and transformation recovery at Gratton Advisory, a firm she founded and scaled to address complex operational challenges. In addition to working with higher education institutions, Ms. Gratton specializes in supporting private equity portfolio companies and merger and acquisition initiatives, particularly during periods of industry disruption and regulatory shifts. Her expertise extends to assisting institutions affected by vendor instability.
At Gratton Advisory, Ms. Gratton works directly with executive leaders on a school-by-school basis to assess institutional challenges and stabilize operations. She is recognized for driving enrollment strategy alignment, enhancing operational efficiency and leading technology modernization efforts. Concurrently, Ms. Gratton serves as an operating executive at Knowhere Technology and Management Consulting, which she also founded. Her leadership in these dual roles underscores her commitment to solving complex technical and organizational challenges in the higher education sector.
Before opening her own firms, Ms. Gratton dedicated two years to her position as senior vice president of partner support at Academic Partnerships (now doing business as Risepoint), following prior tenures as vice president of operations and vice president of partner solutions at the same organizations. During her time with Academic Partnerships, she led a team of more than 30 professionals through a critical restructuring process that addressed long-standing interdepartmental conflicts and improved integration processes. Her efforts to improve client retention and satisfaction ultimately contributed to the successful sale of Academic Partnerships in late 2019.
Ms. Gratton’s earlier career includes seven years as a principal consultant and director of enterprise systems at Ellucian, where she achieved one of her most notable achievements in the higher education sector. Throughout her tenure at Ellucian, she demonstrated leadership in turning around failed implementations for high-profile clients, including an Ivy League institution facing significant stakeholder grievances that had escalated toward litigation. As a consultant brought in during this critical period, Ms. Gratton worked directly with institutional leadership to rebuild both technical systems and interpersonal relationships, culminating in a successful system launch that restored trust among all parties. Prior to Ellucian, she was a principal consultant and systems integration department manager for professional services at SunGard Higher Education Limited, where she was recognized for her visionary approach in bridging organizational gaps through innovative problem-solving.
Throughout her career, Ms. Gratton has been supported by her own education. She earned an Associate of Science in computer science and accounting from Champlain College. Continuing to build on that foundation, Ms. Gratton is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in generative artificial intelligence (AI) for business applications at The University of Texas at Austin. She is certified as a change practitioner from Prosci, in AI implications for business strategies from the Sloan School of Business Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and in launching health technology innovation from MIT.
A member of several important organizations in her field, Ms. Gratton boasts a high standing within the industry. Reflecting that, she has served as an adviser since 2019 for both Guidepoint Consulting and Emissary & Exchange. She has also maintained membership in the National Association of Professional Women since 2016.
Ms. Gratton’s excellence has been recognized through numerous accolades over the years. She was inducted into the VIP Woman of the Year Circle by the National Association of Professional Women in 2017. Among other accomplishments, Ms. Gratton has won the Enable Customer Greatness Cheers Award, the Act With Courage Award, the CLEAR Award, the Topaz Award, the Project Management Team Award, the SES Sapphire Award and the University of Vermont Technology Award. She is a multiple-time winner of the Own Our Destiny Award and the SunGard Higher Education Sapphire Award.
In considering the roots of her success, Ms. Gratton credits the tenacity her mother taught — a quality she now strives to embody as a role model for her own children. She believes deeply in the importance of parental influence as a guiding force throughout life.
Alongside her son and daughter, Ms. Gratton is a proud and loving grandmother to two grandsons. Outside of her professional commitments, she enjoys bodybuilding, weight training, exercising, playing golf, hiking, fishing, riding a bike and exploring the outdoors.
Moving forward, Ms. Gratton is focused on building a digital platform designed specifically for women — a project she has researched extensively. She is also finalizing the publication of her first book, “The Death of Data,” which addresses complexities in data implementation and ongoing industry changes. Ms. Gratton plans to author additional books on personal topics while continuing to serve clients and impart wisdom to younger generations entering the workforce.