Pearson plc (LSE: PSON; NYSE: PSO) is a global publisher and the world's leading learning company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has market-leading businesses across education (Prentice Hall, Longman & FT Press), consumer (Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird) and business information (Financial Times). It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world.

Pearson has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Marjorie Scardino has been CEO since 1997.

The company was founded by Samuel Pearson in 1844 as a building and engineering concern operating under the name of S. Pearson & Son. In 1880, control passed to his grandson Weetman Pearson, an engineer, who in 1890 moved the business to London and turned it into one of the world's largest construction companies.

The company built the Blackwall Tunnel between 1892 and 1897.

In 1919, the firm acquired a 45% stake in the London branch of merchant bankers Lazard Brothers, an interest which would be increased to 80% in 1932 during the depression years. Pearson continued to hold a 50% stake until 1999.

Sir Michael Barber is currently the Chief Education Advisor to Pearson, the world's largest learning company. In the past, Sir Michael served as a partner and head of the global education practice at McKinsey, advisor to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and a global expert on education reform and implementation of large-scale system change. He has worked for over 20 years in education and government reform and improvement.

Barber previously served as Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education on School Standards during the first term of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. During Blair’s second term, from 2001 to 2005, Barber served as the Chief Adviser on Delivery, reporting directly to Prime Minister Blair. As head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU), he was responsible for working with government agencies to ensure successful implementation of the Prime Minister’s priority programs, including those in health, education, transport, policing, the criminal justice system, and asylum/immigration. He wrote a book about his experience in the PMDU, titled Instruction to Deliver: Fighting to Reform Britain’s Public Services (Metheun 2008), which was described by the Financial Times as “one of the best books about British Government for many years,” and has been read by political leaders around the world.