The second big hiring news of the week is that major ELT player Embassy English, part of Study Group, has announced the appointment of Santuza Bicalho, former CEO of major agency chain STB in Brazil, to head up its global sales division.
Based in Brazil, Bicalho will oversee global agent sales for Embassy English reporting to Jean Vernor, Managing Director of Embassy English. She will also join the Study Group Senior Leadership Team.
“Santuza brings tremendous leadership skills, industry expertise and credibility to this role,” said Vernor. “Her global relationships and agent perspective will be invaluable as we strengthen the Embassy brand, fortify our agent channel, and focus on maximizing the student experience in 2014.”
Bicalho’s career spans 18 years at STB Brazil, one of the largest education agency firms in the world. Speaking with The PIE News in 2012, Bicalho explained the company’s early adoption of social media. Under her leadership, STB Brazil opened 22 new sales offices, launched an e-commerce platform and significantly grew language travel and student travel sales
She told The PIE News that she was ready for a new challenge and “wanted to go global”. She added that her experience running a 72-office agency network meant she knew she could contribute a lot to Embassy’s development.
“Enhancing the student experience will be a must,” she said. “We are structuring our product to ensure a great delivery with good feedback during and after their stay. Great delivery will be super important for Embassy.”
Bicalho has also served as Chairman and Treasurer of the Association of Language Travel Organizations (ALTO).
