Describe yourself in three words or phrases.
A builder at heart. Someone who sees possibility in people and in the future. Tenacious when something matters.
What do you like most about your job?
What I love most is the chance to make a difference at a really important moment in someone’s life. Choosing where and what to study can shape a student’s future and helping them make that choice with confidence, across so many countries and cultures, is a huge privilege. I also love the scope and range of my role. On any given day I’m thinking about customer experience, people, technology, policy and economics. The most interesting problems and opportunities are often found in the connections between these areas.
Describe a project or initiative you’re currently working on that excites you.
I’m working on how we reimagine the student journey so that every interaction leaves a student better informed and more confident in their choice. Technology and AI can play a huge role in that, but what excites me most is what we can unlock on the human side: giving our people more time, better insight and the ability to bring real judgement and care to the moments that matter. When a student has confidence in their decision, everyone benefits, including the institution they choose.
What’s a piece of work you’re proud of, and what did it teach you?
Some of the work I’m proudest of is work nobody would ever see. Throughout my career, I’ve worked on building data foundations that have enabled much bigger changes later. It was painstaking at times, and certainly wasn’t the glamorous part of transformation, but it reinforced for me that great things usually sit on top of really good plumbing. You need people who can see the future you’re trying to create and still have the tenacity to do the hard, detailed work required to get there. My experience has taught me to value both: ambition about what’s possible and the discipline to make it real.
What’s a small daily habit that helps you in your work?
I journal at the end of each day: what I’m grateful for, the moments of joy worth celebrating, anything I need to forgive, in myself or others, and any loose ends I need to pick up the next day.
This practice helps me finish the day with intention and gives me a fighting chance of a good night’s sleep!
What’s one change you’d like to see in your sector over the next few years?
I’d love to see international education become known not just for helping students find meaningful work, but for helping them create it. Universities already do great things in entrepreneurship and innovation, and I think we can go much further: making business building, problem solving and economic contribution part of the student experience from the beginning. International students bring extraordinary ambition, global networks and perspectives that cross borders. If we help turn more of that into businesses, ideas and innovation, the value to students, institutions and the countries that welcome them multiplies.
I’ve always believed we should try to create more than we consume, and I’d love to see international education become one of the places where that really comes to life.
What idea, book, podcast or conversation has stayed with you recently?
A conversation with my son about politics, systems thinking and how we create change. We were talking about how easy it is to feel overwhelmed when a problem is enormous and every issue seems connected to 10 others.
We spoke about how complexity can sometimes become an excuse for doing nothing. His perspective was refreshing : take action, learn from it, and then do the next thing. It was such a good reminder that you rarely need to know the whole route before you start.
It’s a simple thought, but one that applies to so many parts of our personal and professional lives.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in this field?
I’m relatively new to the industry myself, so my advice probably applies regardless of industry: stay curious and keep learning for life. The tools and technologies in our sector will keep changing and maturing (and yes including AI!), but some capabilities only become more valuable: asking good questions, thinking critically, breaking a messy problem into parts you can solve, and learning from people who see the world differently.
And don’t be afraid to get things wrong. Be disciplined in your thinking, but take action. If you make a mistake, own it, learn from it and keep going. A career is long. Curiosity and the willingness to keep learning will take you further than having all the answers.
