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Board & Management

Directors

Peter Polson Non-Executive Director and Chairman

Peter was appointed Non-Executive Director and Chairman of IDP Education in March 2007 and became Chairman of IDP Education Limited when the company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in November 2015.
Peter has broad experience in the financial services industry, first as Managing Director of the international funds management business with the Colonial Group, then as an executive with the Commonwealth Banking Group with responsibility for all investment and insurance services, including the group’s funds management, master funds, superannuation and insurance businesses and third-party support services for brokers, agents and financial advisers.
He is currently Chairman of Challenger Limited, Challenger Life Company Limited, Avant Group Insurance Limited and Very Special Kids.
Peter is also a Director of Avant Mutual Group Limited and Avant Group Holdings Limited.

Andrew Barkla Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Andrew was appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of IDP Education in August 2015.
He has extensive experience in the technology, services and software industry, with more than 20 years of senior management experience in roles across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and North America.
Prior to joining IDP Education, Andrew worked for SAP as President of Australia and New Zealand. Before this, he held leadership roles at Unisys, including Vice President of Unisys’ Asia Pacific Japan operations covering 13 countries, Member of Unisys’ Global Executive Committee, and Chairman of Unisys West: a technology services joint venture between BankWest and Unisys.
Earlier in his career, Andrew was Vice President and General Manager of PeopleSoft’s Asia Pacific region prior to the company’s acquisition by Oracle.

Ariane Barker Non-Executive Director

Ariane was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of IDP Education at the completion of its IPO in November 2015 and is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Ariane is a Board Member of Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation since September 2016, a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Atlas Arteria since March 2021, a member of the Investment Committee at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute since 2011, and a former Board Director of Emergency Services & State Superannuation (ESSSuper).
She has extensive experience in international finance, risk management, debt and equity capital markets and venture capital, with over 20 years in senior executive roles at JBWere (part of National Australia Bank), Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and HSBC in the United States, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. She was previously the CEO of Scale Investors from 2017 to February 2021.
Ariane is a graduate and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Professor David Battersby AM Non-Executive Director

David was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of IDP Education in February 2011.
He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ballarat in 2006 and, in 2014, he became Foundation Vice-Chancellor of Federation University Australia, completing his term of office in 2016.
He took up his current appointment as an Adjunct Professor at Southern Cross University in 2017.
David’s previous senior appointments have been at universities in Australia and New Zealand, and he has undertaken consultancies for UNESCO, the OECD and various government agencies.
He was foundation Chair of the Australian Regional Universities Network and the board of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Melbourne Institute of Technology.
David is also Deputy Chair of the Board of Education Australia Limited.

Professor Colin Stirling Non-Executive Director

Colin was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of IDP Education in February 2018.
He is the President and Vice-Chancellor of Flinders University and brings more than thirty years of experience in international education in Australia, the UK and the USA.
Colin is a Director of Education Australia Limited and has held various other board positions across health, academic and community organisations.
Educated at the University of Edinburgh, and with a PhD from the University of Glasgow, Colin began his award-winning scientific career at the University of California, Berkeley.

Greg West Non-Executive Director

Greg was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of IDP Education in December 2006.
Greg is on the Council of the University of Wollongong and a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of UOWGE Limited, a business arm of the University of Wollongong with universities in Dubai, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Greg is also a Director and Chair of Education Australia Limited.
Previously, Greg was Chief Executive Officer of a dual listed ASX biotech company. He has worked at Price Waterhouse and has held senior finance executive roles in investment banking with Bankers Trust, Deutsche Bank, NZI and other financial institutions.
Greg is a Director of the St James Foundation Limited.
He is a Chartered Accountant with experience in the education sector, investment banking and financial services.

Chris Leptos

Chris Leptos AM Non-Executive Director

Chris was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of IDP Education at the completion of its IPO in November 2015.
Chris recently retired as Chairman of SEA Electric and is Chairman of the National Heart Foundation of Australia. In 2020 Chris was appointed by the Federal Government to conduct a statutory review of the National Housing and Investment Corporation Act reporting to Parliament in 2021.
In 2021 Chris was appointed by the Federal Government as the Independent Reviewer of the Food and Grocery Code under the Competition and Consumer Act.
He is also a Senior Advisor to Flagstaff Partners, a member of the Advisory Board of The University of Melbourne Faculty of Business & Economics, and the Advisory Council of Asialink.
He was previously a Senior Partner with KPMG and Managing Partner Government at Ernst & Young where he had national responsibility for leading the public sector and higher education practice.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Fellow of the AICD.

Senior management team

Andrew Barkla

Andrew Barkla Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Andrew commenced work with IDP Education in August 2015 as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Refer to the Directors section above for a summary of Andrew’s professional credentials

Murray Walton Chief Financial Officer

Murray commenced working with IDP Education in March 2010 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary in May 2010.
In April 2021 Murray stepped down as Company Secretary and continues as Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining the Company, Murray held senior finance and management roles with Kodak and SC Johnson based in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and China.
Murray is a chartered accountant and a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Warwick Freeland Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director IELTS

Warwick commenced work with IDP Education in November 2008 as General Manager, Strategy and Business Development and is currently Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director IELTS, a position which he has held since July 2011
He is responsible for strategy, marketing, acquisitions, information services, project management and IELTS
Prior to joining the Company, Warwick worked for Carl Zeiss Vision in Germany as VP Global Product Marketing and Innovation. He has also previously worked with high-growth electronics and machine tools companies
Warwick has also managed the Victorian Government’s economic development for Europe and North America
Warwick holds a Graduate Diploma, Marketing from Monash University and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from Swinburne University of Technology

Harmeet Pental Chief Operating Officer

Harmeet joined IDP Education in March 2009 and was, until recently, Regional Director, for South Asia, North America, UK and Network Shared Services
In October 2017 Harmeet was appointed as IDP's Chief Operating Officer
Harmeet currently has overall responsibility across IDP's North Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East, Canada, Latin America and Customer and Operations Transformation
Prior to joining IDP, Harmeet held general management roles with Avon Products across India and Vietnam and VLCC (India’s leading health and beauty services company).
Harmeet holds an MBA and BA (Hons) in Mathematics from Delhi University

Georgia Murphy General Manager, People and Culture

Georgia commenced work with IDP Education in April 2009 as the General Manager, People and Culture
Prior to joining the Company, Georgia served in senior human resources management roles where she was responsible for the management of complex, multi-site human resources operations, organisation development, strategic planning and change management
Georgia holds a Masters in Business from Victoria University of Technology, a Graduate Diploma in Organisation Development from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Applied Science from RMIT

James Cauchy Regional Director, Australasia

James commenced work with IDP Education in January 2008 as Regional Manager Australia and is currently Regional Director, Australasia based in Melbourne, Australia
James is responsible for IDP Education’s onshore operation in Australia including Student Placement and IELTS. James also manages the Australian and New Zealand client relations functions as well as the web development team for IDP Education websites across its global network of countries. James is also responsible for the operation for IELTS and Student Placement in New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea
Prior to joining the Company, James worked in operational management positions for a number of different brands at major Australian retailer Coles Myer

Imad Chaoui Regional Director, Middle East

Imad commenced work with IDP Education in 2017 as the Regional Director responsible for the company's Middle East operations in 17 countries. He is based in Dubai
Imad brings to IDP over 20 years of sales, commercial and general management experience from the pharmaceuticals, consumer and medical devices industries
Before joining IDP, he worked with the Swiss healthcare company Novartis from 2009, leading several of the company's group subsidiaries. Of these, his most recent role was as General Manager of Alcon, overseeing 13 countries across the Middle East.
Imad holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Chatenay-Malabry University Paris XI, and an MBA from Ecole Superieure des Affaires in partnership with Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris.

Piyush Kumar Regional Director, South Asia

Piyush commenced work with IDP Education in 2015 as the Country Director for India. During this tenure Piyush led extensive expansion into India, and more recently led the successful market entry into Nepal
In October 2017, Piyush joined IDP's Global Leadership Team (GLT) as the Regional Director for South Asia. In his role Piyush is responsible for IDP Education offices in six countries: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, South Korea and Mauritius
Prior to joining IDP, Piyush was in a leadership position at SBI Cards, a joint venture between GE Capital and the State Bannk of India, where he led the largest new customer acquisition channel for the business across 45 offices in India
Piyush holds an MBA from the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development and an Electrical engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology.

Craig Mackey Director, Corporate Development

Craig joined IDP Education in 2013.
As the Director of Corporate Development, Craig is involved in many aspects of strategy, M&A and investor relations.
With an investment banking background, Craig brings to IDP a broad perspective on corporate strategy and finance, and leads all of the company's acquisitions and investments.
Craig holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and is a member of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

Simon Emmett CEO IDP Connect

Simon was appointed CEO of The Hotcourses Group in 2015 having held a number of senior management roles in the business since joining in 2000.
He joined the IDP global leadership team when Hotcourses was acquired by the business in 2017.
Simon is based in London and leads the strategic direction and operational delivery of the Hotcourses Group. He is also responsible for key partnerships, developing people and culture.
He graduated in Economics from the University of Warwick.

Neil Pearson Chief Digital Marketing Officer

After 17 years as the Chief Technology Officer with IDP Connect (formerly The Hotcourses Group), Neil Pearson joined IDP Education as the Chief Digital Marketing Officer in 2017.
In his time at IDP Connect, Neil played a key role in moving the company from a print publication to a world-leading online student engagement and course search platform.
Since joining IDP, Neil has spearheaded the delivery of IDP's ambitious digital strategy, including the launch of a global network of websites, redefining how IDP connects and engages with our connected community around the world.
Neil holds a Master of Arts (Electronic Media) from Oxford Brookes University and a Bachelor of Fine Art and English from University of Exeter.

Raja Sood Regional Director, North Asia and Global Marketing Operations Director

Raja joined IDP Education in December 2010 as the Head Marketing & Australia Destination South Asia and was appointed Regional Director, North Asia and Global Marketing Operations Director in July 2021.
Prior to his current role, Raja led the Global Marketing Operations and was responsible for IDP offices in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.
Raja has over 17 years’ experience in sales, operations and marketing across the business, e-commerce, start-up and auto-hire industries. He worked with Indian multinational company, Berger Paints where he drove high sales growth and built brands for online travel agency Yatra.com and AVIS Rent a Car.
Raja holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University and an MBA in Finance & Marketing from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management.

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