GLOBAL UNIVERSITY SYSTEMS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Executive Chairman
- Our Founder
Our founder, Aaron Etingen, began with a dream and his vision is being realised to leverage technologies to create a positive disruption in the education sphere. His oversight leads a multi-disciplinary team of experienced, enterprising leaders in business, academia, and technology. His ongoing mission for the company is to be a growth stimulator within the education space, and one which is able to take advantage of the many opportunities presented by a dynamic and rapidly shifting world.
Aaron Etingen is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Global University Systems. He founded the business in 2003 through the creation of London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) with four students and currently leads a team of 2,000 supporting a fast-growing student base of 87,000, with alumni from over 15 countries. The business continues to grow rapidly across the world and many learning verticals. Recently, Aaron has driven an online transformation of the company, with nearly 100% of all courses now available online. He continues to innovate its business model, leveraging unique technologies, to create a dynamic learning education platform for growth.
Alona Ligay is the Group General Counsel for Global University Systems. Alona leads the group's efforts around legal and corporate governance and advises the Board and executive management team on strategic, operational, risk and regulatory concerns. Alona was a key team member at Withers Worldwide in the Banking and Corporate practice. She trained with Baker McKenzie in Canada then joined Clifford Chance in the Capital Markets practice in London. Alona holds an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto, Canada. She is a solicitor in Ontario, Canada and England and Wales, UK.
Anton Zakharov is the Chief of Staff of Global University Systems. Anton leads on staff engagement throughout the network and is also responsible for BPO projects and post-acquisition integration. Anton has over 26 years' experience in Human Resources and Business Development across diverse industries including FMCG, Management Consulting and Higher Education and spanning high-growth markets in Europe, India and the Philippines. Anton received his BA from Moscow State Linguistic University (Russia).
Professor Ashraf Jawaid OBE is the Chief Executive Officer, International Partnerships for Global University Systems. He leads development initiatives across the network and heads Transnational Education and Partnerships for Arden University. He was Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, responsible for Home, EU and International Recruitment and Associate Dean of Engineering at Coventry University. Professor Jawaid earned his MA in Production Management from Birmingham University and his PhD from the University of Warwick, where he then continued for 12 years.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Corporate Development and Capital Markets
Elad Rachevsky is the Vice President, Corporate Development and Capital Markets for Global University Systems. Elad leads the corporate finance and acquisition activities for the group. Elad held senior positions in a boutique financial advisory firm and as an investment banker at Citigroup in the Financial Sponsors team. Elad is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Macalester College (Minnesota, USA) with a double major in Mathematics and Economics.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Fabrizio Guccione is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Global University Systems. He works closely with the senior leadership team to strengthen the operations of the business and to continue to drive growth across all geographies and education verticals. Fabrizio was the CEO at Laureate International Universities. Prior to Laureate, he held senior marketing and sales roles in Europe and North America for Colgate-Palmolive. Fabrizio received his Business Administration degree from Bocconi University (Italy) and his MBA from Tuck School of Business (USA).
Job Titles:
- Group Chief Financial Officer
Gary Narunsky is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Global University Systems. He also serves as the Executive Chairman of Global University Systems, Canada, the Head of the Investment Committee and a Board Observer of Arden University. Gary was CFO of global education group Cognita. His prior experience includes leadership positions at Merrill Lynch and Grovepoint Capital. Gary is a qualified Chartered Accountant (South Africa) and has an MBA from London Business School. He is the Vice Chairman and Honorary Treasurer of the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
Graeme Simpson is the Chief Marketing Officer of Global University Systems. He works closely with all the network's marketing teams, overseeing the planning, development and execution of marketing and advertising initiatives. In addition to leading the brand, marketing, sales and communications efforts, he is also responsible for integrating new partners into the group. He previously worked at investment specialist, ADVFN, as the Head of Global Marketing, where he played a key role in helping grow the business from its UK base to a multinational company with operations in 16 countries.
Job Titles:
- Chief Academic Officer
- Officer
Professor Maurits van Rooijen is the Chief Academic Officer of Global University Systems. He serves as the Rector of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Germany and as the Board Chair for IBAT College Dublin, Ireland and GISMA, Germany. Maurits continues to propel innovation and change within the academic spheres of the company. Awarded the Constance Meldrum prize for Vision and Leadership from the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the Insignia d'Ouro of the Universidad Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Maurits embodies our ethos of lifelong learning and striving for excellence. Maurits received his BA in History and his PhD in Geography from University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Max Etingen - Chief Commercial Officer
Max Etingen is the Chief Commercial Officer of Global University Systems. He serves on the boards of several higher education institutions including the University of Europe for Applied Sciences and University Canada West. Max's areas of focus are on international strategy, technology and student recruitment. Educated at the Schulich School of Business at York University, as well as the City University of Hong Kong, Max is passionate about increasing access to high quality education to students from all over the world.
Miguel Blazquez is the Chief Technology Officer of Global University Systems. He oversees the overarching technology infrastructure of the company that is closely aligned with the overall organisation's mission to leverage contemporary capabilities to extend the reach of education and learning across the globe. Miguel was responsible for the technological organisation of Laureate International Universities, EMEA. Miguel also worked at Merck & Co in several executive IT positions including as Global Head of Manufacturing Systems, Regional Commercial and Analytics Platforms.
Job Titles:
- Group Operations Director
Sitora Azimova is the Group Operations Director for Global University Systems. Sitora leads the Shared Services team across the network. Her 15 years of managing commercial operations globally enables her to optimise entrepreneurial start-ups' efforts and network integration. Sitora, with the group since inception, has been instrumental in market expansion and integration of new businesses. Sitora worked extensively in the field of international executive recruitment.
Valery Kisilevsky is the Group Managing Director of Global University Systems. He works closely with Aaron Etingen to stimulate and hone Global University Systems' development. Valery holds several academic degrees: a BA (Hons) in Political Science, Ethics, Law and Economics from the University of Toronto; an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); and a Graduate Diploma in Law from the College of Law of England and Wales.
Job Titles:
- Chief Transformation Officer
Will is the Chief Transformation Officer at Global University Systems. Will has senior leadership responsibility for our business transformation agenda, working closely with institutional leadership teams and functional directors across the group to deliver on our vision of improving business performance, driving efficiency and focusing on student success. He has held senior leadership roles in Finance, Transformation, Digital, Data and Operations across multiple sectors and geographies including Southeast Asia, India and Africa. Will has previously worked at Prudential, Accenture and the BBC and is a CIMA-qualified chartered management accountant with a Finance and Accountancy degree from Cardiff University.