About Nord Anglia Education

Richard Davies is Regional Managing Director of Europe for Nord Anglia Education. He brings extensive experience to the European region thanks to his deep understanding of Nord Anglia Education, its educational philosophy, and its overall culture. He joined the organisation in 2010 as a Business Development Manager and since then he has held important management roles across the global organisation, including as Head of Operational Excellence in 2019 and as Head of Latin American Schools in 2021, where he oversaw significant improvements in these schools’ educational, commercial, and operational performance.

Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Bristol and currently lives in Lausanne, Switzerland with his wife and two children.

John McCall is Regional Managing Director, the Americas at Nord Anglia Education.

The founding member of the British International School Shanghai (BISS), Jian has commissioned, opened and provided strong operational management for each school opened in the region.

Previously, Jian has worked as an independent business consultant and as China Desk Manager for Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland. Jian has a BA in management studies and an MA in industrial economics.

Shaun Williams is Regional Managing Director for Nord Anglia Education in Southeast Asia, Middle East and India.

Prior to taking up this role in 2015, Shaun worked as a teacher and school leader in the UK for 20 years before moving to international education in 2002 taking up his first principal role in Dubai at Jumeirah College. In 2007 he became principal of BIS HCMC and went on the lead the project teams which open three more schools in Vietnam between 2011 and 2013.

Shaun is also a past chairman of FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia).

Jérôme de Meyer serves as an advisor on boarding and out-of-classroom activities and is the non-executive Chairman of Nord Anglia Switzerland.

Lord David Puttnam is Chair of Nord Anglia’s Education Advisory Board. Working closely with Nord Anglia’s leadership team, the Education Advisory Board supports the continuous development of Nord Anglia’s programs, including professional development, safeguarding, and the progress of teaching and learning to deliver outstanding academic outcomes for its students. 

Lord Puttnam is a British film producer, educator, and environmentalist. He is Chair of Atticus Education, an online education company founded in 2012 that delivers audio-visual seminars to students around the world.  

Lord Puttnam is also a former member of the House of Lords where he pursued an active role in a variety of areas, from educational and environmental issues to digital skills. Prior to this he spent thirty years as an independent producer of award-winning films including The Mission, The Killing Fields, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Local Hero. Together these films have won ten Oscars, ten golden globes, twenty-five Baftas and the Palme D'Or at Cannes.

Sir Michael Barber is one of the leading Education and Government experts of the last 20 years. He was once described by Time magazine as ‘the single most influential educator on the face of the earth’. In April 2021 his latest book Accomplishment: How Ambitious and Challenging Things Get Done was published by Penguin. It identifies the pattern of accomplishment across many fields including sport, business and science as well as government. It has been described by Matthew Syed as “an excellent analysis”. His previous book How to Run a Government so that Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don’t go Crazy, also published by Penguin, has been influential among politicians and officials worldwide.

From 2017 to 2021 he was Chair of the Office for Students which regulates the higher education system in England.

He served as Chief Adviser to the Secretary of State for Education on School Standards from 1997 to 2001 during which time school performance improved significantly.

In 2001 he set up the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit in No 10 Downing Street to ensure the successful implementation of the Prime Minister’s priorities in domestic policy including education and health.

Having worked as Head of McKinsey’s Global Education Practice and as Pearson’s Chief Education Adviser, Michael set up with others, his own company, Delivery Associates which helps governments deliver results citizens care about. In 2023 he advised the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the skills agenda and is currently FCDO Envoy on Governance in the Palestinian Authority.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Queen’s College, Oxford and Chancellor of the University of Exeter. He is also Chair of Somerset County Cricket Club. 

Kaya Henderson serves as Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute. Kaya has devoted her career, as a teacher, a leader, and an entrepreneur, to expanding opportunities for young people. 

Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Kaya was the founder and CEO of Reconstruction, an innovative educational organization dedicated to teaching young people about African-American history, culture, and contributions in a comprehensive and affirming way, so that students of all backgrounds benefit from a more complete understanding of our shared history and society. 

Kaya is perhaps best known for serving as Chancellor of DC Public Schools from 2010-2016. During her tenure, DCPS was nationally recognized for leading the nation in improved student performance. At the same time the district enjoyed enrollment growth, an increase in graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, and increases in AP participation and pass rates. Kaya also greatly expanded career opportunities for students, provided opportunities for young people to travel the world, and made sure that students experienced the joy of learning life skills like swimming and riding a bike.

Kaya’s career began as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx through Teach For America. She went on to expand opportunities for students through her work as a TFA staff member, as a Vice President at TNTP, and as a leader of the Global Learning Lab for Community Impact at Teach for All. She is also co-host of Pod Save the People.

A native of Mt. Vernon, NY, Kaya graduated from Mt. Vernon Public Schools. She received her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and her Master of Arts in Leadership from Georgetown University, as well as honorary doctoral degrees from Georgetown and Trinity University. Her board memberships include Georgetown University, Robin Hood NYC, Scholastic, and Teach For America, and she is the co-founder of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). Kaya is a former trustee of the Aspen Institute and a Fellow in the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Professor Lily Kong is the fifth, and current, President of Singapore Management University (SMU), and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences. The university is well sought after for the transformative opportunities students are offered within and outside the classroom, and well known for its research that strives to create impact for business, government and society. 

Professor Kong is an award-winning researcher and teacher. She has received numerous international and national awards, including the Commonwealth and Fulbright Fellowship Awards, the Robert Stoddard Award from the American Association of Geographers, and the Victoria Medal from the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers. Prior to her current role at SMU, she served as its Provost, and before that was a faculty member and senior leader for nearly 25 years at the National University of Singapore. Professor Kong specialises in social-cultural and urban geography – she has published a large body of work on religion, cultural policy and the creative economy, urban heritage and conservation, and national identity. She is the first Singaporean to lead SMU, and the first woman to serve as President of any university in Singapore. 

Dr Leslie Williams is Nord Anglia’s Senior Programme Lead for Social Impact and Giving, and Chairperson for the Global Equalities Programme.

She began her career in education in 2002 as an English teacher in both public and private schools before transitioning into the role of High School Director at Windermere Preparatory School in August 2013.

During the summer of 2020, whilst High School Director, Leslie became the NAE Chairperson for Global the Equality Programme's Steering Committee, which is responsible for creating an EDIB Policy and an EDIB Vision with key organisational goals. She continues to lead the organisation’s efforts in ensuring everyone understands their role in creating inclusive environments that instil a sense of belonging in each community member.

In July 2022, Leslie began her current role, which focuses on the NAE Social Impact Programme which supports UNICEF, Social Impact Grants, and Student Leadership. Through this role, she aims to connect with schools and to connect schools with one another as they work through the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Child Rights through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and student leadership opportunities. 

Graham joined Nord Anglia in September 2018 bringing his wealth of experience within the international sector and educational and leisure industries. As a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner, with a track record of over 25 years of delivering value-added risk management to prominent organisations, he is passionate about building a best in class service for all our schools. 

Following his undergraduate science degree and early career in construction, Graham realised his true vocation.  After returning to university to attain his Postgraduate Diploma in Health and Safety, he was appointed Her Majesty’s Inspector of Health & Safety in the UK, where he was responsible for workplaces in the education, leisure and healthcare sectors. Moving to the private sector, he combined a successful role as a Director in a specialist agency advising the film and television industries, whilst lecturing on a university Masters Safety degree and managing safety for a complex multi-site NHS healthcare trust.

Graham’s international career took off at the British Council where he led on safety and security across an estate spanning 110 countries.  Following this, Graham took up the challenge of extending his skills within the emergency services, as Head of Health & Safety and Internal Assurance.

Jenny joined Nord Anglia Education in July 2015 with over a decade of experience in education and is currently the Assistant Director, Professional Development. She has previously managed Nord Anglia's Global Campus along with our collaborations with The Juilliard School and UNICEF.

Her career has included senior roles leading local, regional and national school improvement programmes in the UK. Before joining Nord Anglia Education as Assistant Director of Student Services, Jenny led school improvement in Academy Trusts, where she was responsible for developing and delivering strategies to turn around historically underperforming schools. Prior to these roles, Jenny spent nine years working in the Department for Education leading key initiatives. Jenny was the Head of the Greater Manchester Challenge, which helped to significantly increase the number of outstanding schools in the region, and led key elements of the London Challenge. Jenny played a key role in expanding the London Challenge to the Three City Challenges, and the National Challenge.