Studyportals, Global. Kirsten Feddersen started as SVP of Analytics and Consulting – North America for Studyportals, where she will focus on their analytics and insights portfolio. Kirsten has worked with international student recruitment and marketing for close to 20 years; most recently in the role of Assistant Vice Chancellor of IEM at Northeastern University, prior to which she served as AVP of international at Southern New Hampshire University. In addition to also working for SUNY System, Danish agency EDU Danmark, and Aarhus University in Denmark, Kirsten served in volunteer positions on multiple boards, including the American International Recruitment Council and Intead. Of her new role, Kirsten said: “I’m beyond excited to join Studyportals in this role! I get to work with data every day and put my experience to good use by helping others reach their goals and support more international students. And I couldn’t have found a better group of people to work with!”

Southern Cross University, Australia. Damon Ferris has been appointed as Southern Cross University’s new executive director of global. Damon has over a decade of experience in international higher education across all levels both in Australia and overseas. His roles have spanned strategic leadership, student recruitment, mobility, partnership development, market insights, admissions, and academic management in the private and public sectors spanning Australia and China. Damon is originally from regional NSW but has spent over 10 years living and working abroad, an opportunity which he attributes to his own experience with international education as a postgraduate student. He is passionate about the benefits that international education brings to regional communities and the wonderful opportunities that the regions offer for international students. Damon said: “I’m excited by this opportunity to work with a dynamic university that punches above its weight and makes such a difference in regional development and on the global stage.”

ICEF, Global. Marie-Claude Svaldi has recently joined ICEF as its VP of government relations. She will enable ICEF to forge new relationships, alliances and partnerships with government bodies, educational groups and sector associations across the globe. Due to her background and extensive list of contacts, she will play special roles in our market development in the US and the Middle East, taking the overall lead of ICEF’s scholarship events. Originally from Lebanon, Marie-Claude was initially a government consultant and project manager for Pearson Education, where she directed numerous projects for school boards, ministries of education and higher education in the Middle East. She then became the Assistant Director at the ESL Institutes & Placement Department at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in the US, overseeing all English language programmes nationwide, managing 62,000 SACM students enrolled in the United States on behalf of the Saudi Cultural Mission and Ministry of Education. She has also provided consulting services to the Libyan Ministry of Higher Education while administering their scholarship programs worldwide, and was the founder and president of ECCOS. Today, as Partner and VP of Government Relations and Recruitment MENA at ELS (where she will maintain her role of VP of Government Relations) she has come full circle and acquired the knowledge and expertise of the business and industry from all its various aspects while maintaining excellent relations on a very high governmental level and with key stakeholders within the industry.

University of Canberra, Australia. James Armit was appointed in November 2022 as director, future students at the University of Canberra. He joins after over three and a half years at Victoria University, where he was most recently director of student administration, and previously executive director (students). James will be leading the recruitment and admission of international and domestic students, as well as contributing to UC’s ambitious Education Transformation and Growth plan, including a 30% increase in student load by 2027. Of his new role, James said: “It’s a great time to join UC as we implement the new ‘Connected’ strategy, creating the knowledge and skills that will enable our graduates to support the realisation of massive social and economic policies, in the city that sets the agenda for Australia.”

UniQuest, UK. UniQuest has appointed Adam Rennison as head of business development to lead the growth strategy for the UK and Europe. Bringing experience of the public and private sectors, Adam will play a key role in the expansion of UniQuest services to both public and private HE institutions and organisations. Adam will also support Keystone Conversion activities in global territories. “I am proud to join UniQuest at such an exciting time!” Adam said of his new role. “As the market leader in student engagement services, we have an opportunity, and responsibility, to provide the very best service to institutions worldwide. As a former client of UniQuest, I witnessed firsthand the game-changing role they play in student experience and massive expansion of international enrolments. There has never been a more important time to collaborate and deliver outstanding student services, and I’m delighted to work with our partners to seek exceptional outcomes for everyone!”

Holmes Education Group, Global. Roshan Ghimire has been promoted to the position of director of business development – South Asia at Holmes Education Group. It comes two years and eight months at the organisation as a regional manager for Nepal. Roshan has also been recognised as one of the associate fellows of the International Education Association of Australia. With his extensive experience in the international education sector, Roshan is poised to lead a dedicated team of managers to maintain South Asia’s standing as a top performer. Roshan will explore TNE possibilities within the region to further expand the group’s reach. He has previously worked with QIBA, Brighton College and Nurse Training Australia. When asked about his new role, Roshan expressed his excitement about the transformative year ahead for Holmes Education Group. “I am thrilled to be part of the team at such a crucial time in the organisation’s growth,” he said.

Studyportals, Global. Studyportals has recently appointed Victoria Hobdale as deputy director of its analytics and consulting team. Victoria brings more than eight years of experience working in higher education. Starting as an enrolment manager recruiting international students, she then moved into higher education academic publishing, working with McGraw Hill and Macmillan Learning. Victoria also ran her own highly successful sales and marketing company for ten years based in Belfast before expanding her business to the Netherlands where she is now based. She has retained her entrepreneurial spirit for her current role and is really excited about the prospect of assisting the ACT team to expand and continuing to support HEIs. “For me, having a strong purpose in the work I do is really important, it still blows me away what is possible with data analysis and how we can both guide the institutions we work with and help students (our future leaders) find the right course for them.”

M Square Media, Global. MSM has appointed Lauren Legroun as vice president for global sales. With more than 15 years in the education industry, she has proven record of driving growth and scaling businesses to deliver success across B2B, B2C, and B2G channels. Lauren will lead the development and implementation of MSM’s overall sales strategy and execution plan across the globe, leading the sales front and monitoring current trends to maintain the company’s competitiveness in the international education market. Lauren is the former CEO of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences and GUS Germany GMBH. Most recently she spent two years with Coursera on the edtech innovation front, leading the Coursera for Campus business in EMEA. Of her new role, Lauren said: ““As a person and business professional, I am never satisfied with the ordinary; I strive for exceptional and will continue to do that on this exciting journey with MSM. Sanjay’s vision for the business is profound and I’m committed to ensuring we exceed the already high bar of expectations.”

upGrad, Global. upGrad has announced the appointment of Dan Rosensweig, a longtime Silicon Valley executive, to its board of directors. He comes on board as an independent non-executive director and joins the current senior representatives from Singapore-based investor Temasek and International Finance Corporation (IFC). As president and CEO of Chegg since 2010, Dan has transformed the company into the student-first connected learning platform. He also serves on the board of Adobe and is a senior advisor to TPG Growth Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. Of his new role, Dan said: “I am excited to be joining upGrad’s board of directors as there has never been a better time to provide accessible and flexible higher education and skills training to learners around the world. By working in partnership with key universities and major technology enterprises, particularly in India, we can help transform the workplace of tomorrow.”

University of Auckland, New Zealand. Martin Hookham-Simms has been appointed international director at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. With the aim of creating globally transformative education experiences built upon the university’s distinctive strengths in world-leading research, scholarship, teaching and partnerships, Martin will lead the university’s international office comprised of marketing, recruitment, development, transnational education, partnerships, study abroad and international student services. Martin heads to Aotearoa New Zealand after spending more than two decades working in international education in both the public and private sectors in the UK. He said of his new role: “Auckland is the ideal location for students to study who are seeking a contemporary world class approach to education and recognise the importance of indigenous values in tackling today’s global challenges. I cannot wait to ensure that more students get to know about the distinctive experience New Zealand has to offer.”

Kaplan International Languages, Global. Joseph Bleazard has been appointed by Kaplan International Languages as principal of the Kaplan International Online English School. Joseph joined Kaplan in 2014 after roles in mainstream education and the Chinese TEFL industry. At Kaplan, Joseph worked in a range of school positions, helped develop Kaplan International English’s VLE, and worked on the Royal Commission for Al Ula English Language Education project during his five years on the UK Operations team. The Online English Courses and Online Live Practice, formerly known as Live and Express, are available in multiple time slots suitable for students around the world at a range of intensities. Classes are delivered live making it possible to receive feedback in real-time and for classmates from around the world to interact. Speaking of his new role, Joseph said “I’m glad to be able to combine the real-time online teaching experience of my team with my own experience to create an industry-leading online language learning environment.”

Oxford University Press, UK. Sara Pierson has joined Oxford University Press as the global sales and marketing director for its English Language Teaching (ELT) division. Sara brings extensive experience in international education and assessment, having most recently held the position of global director of examinations for the British Council, spanning IELTS, assessment services for UK examination boards, and the development of the British Council’s own tests. Passionate about the transformational power of education and the role that the English language plays in enabling people to access new opportunities, Sara was honoured to be awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to UK education and the promotion of the English language overseas. In this exciting new role, Sara will be helping to identify and deliver opportunities for growth worldwide, and ensuring that OUP continues to develop compelling, increasingly digital offers to meet the changing needs of customers.

TCL Global, Global. Ryan Powell has been appointed as the new director of UK/international partnerships & business development for TCL Global. Previously, for the past five years Ryan worked as Middle East international recruitment officer and a transnational education (TNE) partnership manager at Cardiff Metropolitan University in the UK. Ryan has worked with a number of agents across the Middle East, attended fairs, events and facilitated student support to study in the UK. Focussed primarily around the Middle East, Ryan developed effective personal working relationships across the region. Regarding his new role, Ryan said: “I am really looking forward to the challenge of representing TCL Global and working with the large number of UK university partners, and the wider TCL team across the world and feel I have a lot to offer the role in continuing support for students looking to study in the UK”.

Ulster University, UK. Sven Schottmann was recently appointed associate dean (development and partnerships) by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Ulster University’s new Belfast city campus. Sven brings with him close to twenty years’ experience in the international higher education sector, including as a lecturer, researcher, business development manager, internationalisation lead and pathway college director. A former international student in Malaysia, the US, the UK and Australia, Sven is passionate about international education and its transformative effects on students, their families and communities, as well as the people they encounter in their destination societies. He remains research active in the field of international politics and has published on topics such as social change in Southeast Asia, inter- and intra-faith dialogue, Islamic banking, and the role of international higher education in foreign policy. But now he is really looking forward to the opportunities, dynamism and giant spirit afforded by Northern Ireland, and to enjoying ‘the craic’ with Ulster’s international students and partners from around the world.

Kaplan International Pathways, UK. Julien Boville has been promoted to the position of Head of Quality and Risk Management – UK Admissions, after 8 successful years as Head of College Services at Nottingham Trent International College. In this newly created role Julien will shape and deliver admissions risk strategy across all Kaplan UK pathway colleges and HE partnerships. Julien has worked in UK Higher Education for 17 years. After beginning his HE career at the University of Huddersfield Students’ Union, he moved to Study Group in an academic management role before joining Nottingham Trent International College where he oversaw all college support functions and successfully led the team through the turbulent period of the pandemic. Julien is passionate about international higher education, students’ engagement and the pathway sector, a topic he is about to complete a Professional Doctorate in. When asked about his new role Julien said: “2023 looks to be a transformational year for Kaplan Admissions, and I’m excited to be a part of it”.

Oxford International Education Group, UK. Miles Durham has joined Oxford International Education Group as Head of Partnerships for OI Digital Institute (OIDI). Miles was previously Partnerships Manager at Studiosity, the leading provider of 24/7 online writing support for HE students, where he spent four years successfully building strong collaborative partnerships with many universities across the UK. In this exciting new role, Miles is building similarly collaborative university partnerships with OIDI, helping institutions to prepare and support international students by ensuring they are equipped with the level of English language ability they need to begin and successfully complete their studies. His role is focused on helping universities achieve better international student outcomes by using OIDI’s online English language services, including the widely recognised Oxford ELLT (English Language Level Test).

Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Finland. Sandra Slotte has recently been appointed as senior policy advisor for internationalisation at Arcada University of Applied Sciences. She has more than 15 years of experience in international marketing and communications, admissions, student recruitment, and the international student journey. This has taken her into the field of strategic and comprehensive internationalisation of higher education. She acts as secretary for the Internationalisation Group at Arcada and is an elected steering group member of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) Expert Community for Strategy & Management 2022-24. She is also a Prospective Student at the research training programme at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation at Università Cattolica in Milan. After focusing on developing sustainable career support for students and alumni at Arcada, she is now eager to tackle even broader challenges within internationalisation and continue working with multiple stakeholders in internationalisation of higher education with society.

Study Group, Global. Study Group has announced the appointment of July Behl to the new role of executive director of partner development. July has a track record in strategic partnerships and business development, including a focus on strategic innovation and driving growth for major corporations. His previous roles include working with learning company Pearson and multinational engineering and development companies. Study Group’s Ian Crichton said how he is looking forward to welcoming July as an “outstanding addition to the team”. July said of the new role: “I am thrilled to be joining Study Group, an organisation I’ve always admired for widening access to higher education for students from all over the world. As a former international student, I understand the challenges and opportunities that come with pursuing higher education abroad; I’ve been in those shoes. Like Study Group I am committed to fostering a welcoming environment for international students to succeed.”

CEA CAPA, US. Stacy McKay Benander has been promoted to vice president of institutional relations – East at CEA CAPA. This comes after serving as director of strategic engagement for CAPA: The Global Education Network since 2021. Prior to joining CEA CAPA, Stacy served for 15 years as the founder and president of Athena Study Abroad. She also worked as the director of the international office at Ohio Dominican University, and as an international student and scholar advisor at Ohio State University. Stacy received the Enlightened Employer Award at the Women in International Education (WIE) Awards in Berlin, Germany and served as a founding executive team member of the women’s leadership and advocacy group the Global Leadership League. She was also named the recipient of NAFSA Region VI’s esteemed Leo Dowling Award of Excellence. She said of her new role: “I am thrilled to work alongside my newly expanded team at CEA CAPA to build upon the strengths of these two premier brands to offer our students, partners, and community the highest level of academic excellence, integrity, and innovation in learning abroad.”