Who Owns the Academy?

If you’re building or scaling an Academy, one of the first questions that inevitably comes up is deceptively simple: Who owns it?

Is it a marketing function that supports brand and demand generation? A customer success initiative to scale onboarding and retention? Or a product-led investment to drive feature adoption and reduce support volume?

The honest answer: there’s no single correct model. Different companies approach ownership differently, and the “right” answer depends on your business goals, internal capabilities, and how education supports your overall strategy.

Consider these two real-world examples. In one case, a company built their Academy to educate the broader industry and certify professionals - increasing brand awareness and growing an audience beyond their customer base. Marketing led the initiative, with Success and Product contributing content and insights. In another case, the Academy was built strictly to reduce support volume and speed up onboarding. It was owned by the Customer Success team, with operations support and strong collaboration from the support organization. Both worked - because both were grounded in clear business outcomes.

Rather than trying to find the perfect department to “own” the Academy, the better approach is to establish a clear operating model. That includes answering questions like: Who decides the roadmap? Who contributes content? Who ensures updates are made as the product evolves? And how does performance get measured and communicated across teams?

In many companies, a “hub-and-spoke” model works well: one team owns and operates the Academy (the hub), while other departments contribute and collaborate (the spokes). Product helps ensure the training aligns with what’s shipping. Marketing helps amplify and package the value. Success and Support guide the rollout strategy and bring insight from the front lines. Clarity around each team’s role prevents turf wars and builds shared momentum.

Ultimately, ownership matters less than alignment. What’s most important is that there’s a shared understanding of what the Academy is there to achieve, how it ties into key business metrics, and who is responsible for keeping it evolving and impactful. When that clarity exists, structure becomes flexible - and education becomes a true growth lever, no matter where it lives.