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Global Schools Foundation

Board of Advisors - Leadership

Our esteemed Board has always guided us towards meaningful growth and helped us expand our outreach throughout the world.

Ambassador Aftab Seth

President, Global Schools Foundation

Ambassador Seth has had a long and distinguished career in the Indian

Foreign Service.

He has formerly served as an Ambassador of India in countries like Japan, Vietnam, Greece and the Federal States of Micronesia. His contributions also include cities like Beirut, Cairo, Hamburg, Jakarta and Karachi. He is currently based in Tokyo and has been conferred the “Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun Services” – a top award in their country. Amb. Seth is active in providing timely guidance and newer strategies to GSF to help it grow.

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Mohd Hussin bin Abdul Hamid

Vice-President, Global Schools Foundation

Tan Sri Mohd Hussin has rich experience in finance and banking and

brings financial prudence to the Foundation’s functioning.

Having served as an executive in Standard Chartered Bank for over 30 years before becoming the Chairman of MIMB Investment Bank Berhad and Chairman of EONCAP Islamic Banking Berhad, he currently serves as an Independent Director in thirteen companies within the Naza/TTDI Group.

Ambassador K Kesavapany

Vice-President, Global Schools Foundation

Ambassador Kesavapany has been a career diplomat, having served in

Singapore’s foreign service at length.

He served as the Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies for ten years. Prior to that, he was Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and also served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva while concurrently serving as Ambassador to Italy and Turkey. 

Atul Temurnikar

Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Global Schools Foundation

Mr Temurnikar is the Executive Chairman of GSF who oversees the

functioning of its 64 campuses.

Before co-founding the Foundation, Mr Temurnikar was the former Country Manager of IBM Singapore and has had an illustrious career in the IT industry. Currently, he also serves as a Director for several IT companies in Singapore and India.

Board of Patrons

Dr N R Narayana Murthy

Dr Murthy is the founder of Infosys, an entrepreneur par excellence and a

jewel in the crown of India’s IT sector.

Dr Murthy contributes to the education industry in a big way and is on the Governing and Membership Board of many educational institutions like the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Cornell University Board of Trustees and Singapore Management University’s Board of Trustees. 

Dr Karan Singh

Dr Singh is a member of the Indian Upper House of Parliament and India’s

representative to the UNESCO Executive Board.

He is a strong proponent of education. He is the former Chancellor of Jammu and Kashmir University and Banaras Hindu University. He has also served as Chairman of the Central Sanskrit Board, President of the Commonwealth Society of India, The Delhi Music Society, former President of the India International Centre, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation etc. His input brings immense depth to the school’s pedagogical offerings. 

Arjun Malhotra

Mr Arjun Malhotra serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of

Headstrong’s Board of Directors.

Prior to Headstrong, he was the Vice-Chairman of HCL Technologies. He co-founded and built HCL Technologies from a six-person “garage operation” in 1975 to one of the largest information technology companies in the world.

Board of Advisors

Mr Kotaro Tamura

Mr Tamura was a Senator and Parliamentary Secretary for Economic

and Fiscal Policy in Japan during the first Abe administration in 2006-2007.

During his public service tenure, he was also chairman of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the China Europe International Business School and is an Honorary Associate at the National University of Singapore.

Mr K V Rao

Mr Rao is a senior business leader specialising in International Business,

having led enterprises across industry sectors.

He has worked with the Singapore Civil Service and ran a Consulting Business. Mr Rao has a wide global experience of working across cultures. He has been a keynote speaker, blogger and columnist. 

Ambassador Karan Singh Thakral

Mr Thakral is Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Denmark.

He is also the Executive Director of the Thakral Group of Companies and the Chairman of TiE, Singapore. Over the years, Mr Thakral has held several positions in both the private and government sectors in Singapore. He has also served as a board member in many of Singapore’s government-related organisations.

Dato’ Sri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz

Dato’ Sri Abdul Hamidy has over 30 years of banking experience spanning

verticals such as financing,

commercial, investment and Islamic banking. In his previous leadership positions, he served as CEO/MD of Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad, Affin Bank Berhad and Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad. Dato’ Sri Abdul Hamidy currently sits on the Board of AmBank (M) Berhad and AmBank Islamic

Datuk Dr Baljit Singh Sandhu

Dr Baljit has served as advisor in the GSF Board for the past decade.

Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria holds a PhD in Sociology from Oxford Brookes

University, the United Kingdom.

He is currently the Head of the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG). He has also been a member of the Ministry of Economic Affairs since 2016. In October 2017, the United Nations Office in Malaysia awarded him the UN Award for his notable contributions to the promotion of SDGs.

H.E. Abdullatif Al-Mulla

Mr Al-Mulla is the Group CEO of X Panel, RMB, Ramadi Investment,

Dubai Properties, Smart City, CEO of TECOM Investments, General Manager of Microsoft Middle East and Board Member of several organisations. Renowned for his visionary approach and extensive leadership experience. He has received accolades like Microsoft High Distinguished President Award and is recognised as a top-rated General Manager.

H.E. Younis Haji Al-Khoori

Mr Al-Khoori serves as the Under Secretary at Abu Dhabi Investment

Council and holds board positions in Dana Gas PJSC, Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Development Bank and Al Etihad Credit Bureau. He has served as the Undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Finance & Industry. Prior to this, he was a Project Engineer at Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. He is actively involved in various UAE government initiatives, showcasing his commitment to public service and expertise.

R Sundar

Mr Sundar is the former CEO of Times Business Solutions (a Times of India

group enterprise).

He also holds the position of Director at the Times School of Management (TSM) and the Times Centre for Media Studies (TCMS). Mr Sundar was formerly the Director at Bennett Coleman and Company Limited and held the Trusteeship for Times School of Journalism (TSJ).

Lt Gen (Retd) Sudhir Sharma

Lt Gen (Retd) Sudhir Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM, retired from the

Indian Army in 2008 after completing four decades of an illustrious and brilliant career of selfless service to the nation. During his career, he has seen active service in Sri Lanka and Jammu and Kashmir. He has held critical and challenging appointments in the higher echelons of defence management, including a diplomatic assignment in London as the Defence Attaché of India.

Shabana Azmi

Ms Azmi is a National Award-winning actress in Indian cinema and a

committed social activist for women’s rights.

Along with having an illustrious career as a theatre and motion picture artist, Ms Azmi is the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan (India’s third highest civilian honour). She was nominated to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) by the President of India from 1997 to 2003. She is a Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Population Fund and supports causes like AIDS, child mortality and equal rights for all.

Subodh Gore

Mr Gore is a management professional with global experience in engineering

and manufacturing with core experience in finance.

He comes with more than 25 years of experience in Chartered Accountancy and in the role of Company Secretary. His core experience in finance in multinational companies brings valuable depth to the board. He currently serves as the Group Head of Controlling at Hoerbiger, Switzerland and has held important positions in controlling and M&A activities. 

Maneesh Tripathi

Mr Tripathi has an illustrious career of over 22 years with corporations like

Philips, Wipro, TCPL and IBM.

In a career spanning more than two decades, he has worked in Singapore and Asia Pacific, where he held various prestigious positions, including the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for a US$100 million IBM acquisition – Internet Security System for Asia Pacific, managing 17 countries.  Prior to IBM, Mr Tripathi worked with MNCs like Philips and Wipro in India and was the Founding Country Manager/CEO of Thakral Systems (TCPL) in India. He has also served in the Middle East with ISI Ltd.

Sudan Wargantiwar

Mr Wargantiwar has over 31 years of experience in project management in

the oil and gas industry.

He has worked with some of the big names in the industry, including Exxon Mobil, Shell Eastern etc., and has tonnes of experience in managing grass root infrastructure and revamping and turn-around work. He is an IIT (Kanpur) alumnus and an MBA graduate. 

Vikram Limaye

Mr. Vikram Limaye was the Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) for 5 years up to 2022.

 

He has contributed to various committees of government and industry associations on a range of topics surrounding infrastructure, economic policy, markets, trade etc. He has been a speaker at various domestic and international conferences, and has been part of government delegations for infrastructure, market development and foreign direct investments into India. He has also been on the boards of various corporates, educational institutions and not-for-profit organisations.

Board of Advisors (Academics & Business)

Prof. Ralph Tabberer

Prof Tabberer is an expert educator with more than 40 years of experience

in the field

He was Director-General of Schools in England and was responsible for the development and performance of more than 23,000 schools in the UK. In addition, he has worked with government education reform programmes in the UAE, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Ralph established BBD Education in the UK and GCC, which provides consultancy, solutions, management and HR support for local and international school chains. In the last three years, he has co-authored reports on low-cost schools in Africa and Asia and the expansion of international schools and school chains globally. In the New Year’s Honours list of 2009, Her Majesty The Queen invested Ralph as a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB) in recognition of his services to teacher training and schools.

Dr Brian Shegar

President, UAE Singapore Business Council and CEO & Founder, ME Asia Consultancy

Dr Brian Shegar’s forty-year career covers leadership international

banking experience with focus on South East and South Asia, Asia Pacific and Middle East as CEO of Midland Bank, NedBank and Emirates NBD. Upon his retirement from Emirates NBD in 2018, Dr Shegar established ME-Asia Consultancy Pte Ltd and is the Founding President of the UAE Singapore Business Council. He is a Member of the Global Advisory Board of CASS Business School and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Gulf Economics, Trade and Finance. Dr Shegar holds a BSc, Hons (Banking and International Finance) and an MSc (Finance) from the CASS Business School of City, University of London. He was awarded a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Western Australia Business School. He has also presented papers and spoken at numerous seminars and conferences. 

Ted Tan

Mr Tan brings to boards more than 30 years of experience in leadership,

responsibility, governance, risk management and building high performance organisations. He currently serves as the Operating Partner of Temasek’s Heliconia Capital Management, and as Director of SGX-listed Q&M Dental Group, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, SEEDS Capital and Singapore Management University Academy. He is also concurrently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.