Discover the Chief Executive Officer of "Nord Anglia Education" group, who has shared his personal and professional ambitions with the "Planet's Pulse" during the official visit to our College.
Misha: Good afternoon Mr Fitzmaurice! Thank you very much for this possibility!
Good afternoon!
Misha: In your TED-talks, you often mention the importance of changing mindsets in order to achieve something and become successful. How would you describe the current mindset of Nord Anglia Education and which lesson are you learning right now with your colleagues?
At the moment, I am actually doing a master’s degree in international education myself. It is a 2-year course: a combination of studying online and passing a couple of years of university in the King’s College. From a personal point of view, I am still learning and continuing to study… As an organisation, we are trying to make sense of how do we, as a family of schools, bring things to each school that it wouldn’t otherwise have. There is not much point for Nord Anglia to bring something to Champittet that the school already has or could do. It would be useless for us to come and propose boating on the lake as a great idea because this is what you may do very often without our involvement. However, we have brought some projects which we are seeing today, such as collaboration with UNICEF and MIT. These are things we could seriously put in place as a global and large family providing education and opportunities for the students, parents, and staff in Champittet which wouldn’t be accessible otherwise. I would say that this is the biggest mission Nord Anglia Education is working on at this moment: possibilities which are open to our member-schools which they wouldn’t be able to have unless they are a part of Nord Anglia family.
Victor: At our age, you have changed a lot of schools. Have you ever thought about working in the educational sphere later in life?
Yes, I have! Also, recently, I have really enjoyed doing my study on international education. The way many international schools have evolved in a very short space of time is extremely fascinating for me. We are doing some compelling projects in many parts of the world with Nord Anglia. For example, we are currently building 2-4 thousand seat schools in China which will open in just 5 months. These schools will educate local students, which would become a synthesis of the compulsory Chinese national curriculum and international education. When I study international education, I always refer to all types of activities that we are doing around the globe. That really does inspire me! Even no longer being the Chief Executive Officer of Nord Anglia Education, I might still carry on studying or turn to do some practice rather than administration.
" When I study international education, I always refer to all types of activities that we are doing around the globe. That really does inspire me! "
Misha: If you were to choose one key value of a ‘life-long learner’, what would it be?
It is a strange word, but I would say ‘humility’. Indeed, an important value of life-long learner, even if two aren’t usually associated! In Nord Anglia, we are looking for other leaders in the organisation. I am looking for people who want to continue to learn and the reason behind that is a quick change of everything in the world around us, particularly the process of globalisation, technology and the environment. All of these things are happening at a very high speed which makes it difficult for us to keep pace with them. If you come into that with a closed mindset, thinking that you know the answer to everything, you will be out of date very quickly without any chance of dealing with many issues. ‘Humility’ for us is a way of not adopting that mindset and being open to constantly discovering something new. It is really important to become successful in life, but I am aspiring to find people to have this commitment to openness, life-long learning and to being humble in realising that there’s always a lot to learn.
Victor: As you just said, we are living in a fast-changing environment, we are experiencing globalisation, and Nord Anglia Education is truly a global company which started in the Anglo-Saxon world. You are teaching in English, but your headquarters, at the same time, is located in Hong Kong. Which main links do you see between education in many different parts of the world?
Misha: How does it make a difference to be a part of Nord Anglia Education?
I think there are lots of common aspects of education in different parts of the planet. A lot of subjects we teach have got similar concepts, whether it is the process of setting a plant or the same rules in biology. However, there are other things in the curricula that have been developed in different places over time. What you often find while obtaining an educational license to regionally operate a school, is that the local government will specify some parts of the curriculum. In China, for example, we have to strictly follow their national educational programme according to the existing rules. Even if you are running an international school, you still have to organise Mandarin lessons every week. Some of our schools are situated in the Middle East, others - in Europe, and we have to follow national requirements pretty much everywhere. It is very interesting that there are many things which are common to all educational facilities, but each school stays different and authentic. Again, in Nord Anglia, we are trying to make sure that all of them reflect their own communities. If a school reflects its local community well, that guarantees success! In Champittet, the International Baccalaureate is studied along with the Swiss Maturity and the French Baccalaureate. In a Spanish-speaking country, such as Mexico, where we also have schools, what students learn will be adapted to the official language of the country, while the Swiss Maturity, for example, would not be popular. The school has to be allowed to do what it needs to do to be relevant to its local community. Consequently, the next question people might ask is: what is the point of having Nord Anglia? Well, the principle is based on doing something together which is more powerful than what we could achieve alone. There are lots of factors about our collaboration with MIT which would benefit all the schools of our big family. It is not a collaboration just here in the classrooms, but genuinely across the world. When you graduate from school, finish your academic career and go into the world of work, many of the students coming from Champittet will be professionally involved in the global environment. That means teaming up with colleagues in different parts of the planet. Not just me, when I think of Nord Anglia, but so many people that I work with are spending a lot of time collaborating with tens and hundreds of schools or universities. The skillset of being open to that and understanding how that can work for you as a student is something which will give you a great advantage. This is one of the best examples, in my opinion, of that linkage that NAE is trying to establish. We are bringing things for you in Champittet which will positively affect you not just now, but also in your future life and career.
" If a school reflects its local community well, that guarantees success! "
Victor: So, as we understand, you are promoting a common approach everywhere?
It is an interesting challenge to work for Nord Anglia Education. I often say that NAE would be an easier organisation to run if it was McDonald’s. Why would that be the case? Because McDonald’s tries to do similar things mostly everywhere and we aren’t! Definitely, our aim is not to become the McDonald’s of education. We want Champittet to be a unique school serving its local community as well as all the other schools in different regions. At the same time, your college wouldn’t have many things offered by Nord Anglia if it operated on its own. How to get the right balance between the two, and empower people who run the school directly? This is what I am dealing with at my position.
" Our aim is not to become the McDonald’s of education "
Misha: “Be ambitious” is the slogan of Nord Anglia, but what is the biggest ambition for Andrew Fitzmaurice?
The biggest personal ambition for me at that minute, I believe, is doing my master’s degree. I want to complete it successfully. As for professional ambition, Nord Anglia would be successful if everybody associated with it. If by virtue being part of NAE, the students, the staff, the parents and all the stakeholders feel that they are doing better than they would otherwise have done, our group is a true success. My ambition is to make sure that, through all the ways that we measure that, this is happening and the process is continuous. Most people think about ambition as one big goal, such as flying to the moon or inventing a new drug to treat diseases, but for me, a lot of ambition is embedded in doing everything better than previously. If you continue moving, setting yourself a target of doing better than you did last time, this will represent the idea standing behind Nord Anglia Education.
" If you continue moving, setting yourself a target of doing better than you did last time, this will represent the idea standing behind Nord Anglia Education "
Victor: Our school focuses a lot on sustainable development goals and one of them is “quality education”. Therefore, which education rankings do you trust the most?
This is a very interesting question because there are so many of them! How do you measure successful education? Are the rankings based on the academic performance of students, their achievements in sports or their happiness? In Nord Anglia, we develop something called a ‘balanced school card’. To help all the stakeholders succeed, the right measures shall be put in place. The measure we use for parents is our ‘parent satisfaction survey’ that we carry out every year. If teachers want to do a great job and stay at NAE and Champittet, that is also going to lead to a better quality of education and benefit everyone. One of the things we do to ensure attracting excellent teachers is retaining them and helping them to develop professionally. Teachers also wish to continue learning and getting better in their domain and practice. For me, the right measure of the students’ success is not their academic results, but their achievements. Attendance is also a significant measure because absenteeism majorly indicates that students lose interest in their educational process, which should be prevented effectively. Also, which universities are students going to? We started talking about the matter of tracking them after their graduation so that we could see what they are doing beyond higher education. That is one of the things that we challenge ourselves on. The question we are frequently asking is: are our students flourishing in the world later in life? There are, as you know, many definitions of what success means. My view is that our measures should cover everything to continuously get better: academic results going forward, pupils being happier and participating more in the global collaboration, parents being satisfied… This is something we do to deliver a great education!
" For me, the right measure of the students’ success is not their academic results, but their achievements "
Misha: You are making important choices and decisions every single day, but what and who do you rely on in those decisions?
I don’t know how relevant this is, but my star sign is Libra. The scales are always balancing between different choices and I am always interested in hearing the opinion of lots of different people. As you’ve listened to my answers to some of your questions, I’ve spent a big amount of time talking about measuring and data. When I am taking a decision, I hugely appreciate having lots of good, properly researched and highly-qualified information based on facts and experience, which gives a solid foundation to what I do. I honestly hate deciding something in a void of information, a rush or a hurry. For me, everything is structured on wide consultations with my colleagues and confirming that the decision you take will take everyone with you. While sitting here, I could come up with an idea of a project to climb Kilimanjaro, saying “let’s go for it!”, but I don’t ask both of you what we should do and don’t get your agreement for that. In such a case, I might end up climbing Kilimanjaro by myself since you won’t come. Such an approach is totally wrong! I think, as a leader, it is important to understand what the people you are leading want to do as well and what they are going to be motivated by. This is how we are going to move forward together! There is no point leading yourself…
" I hugely appreciate having lots of good, properly researched and highly-qualified information based on facts and experience, which gives a solid foundation to what I do "
Misha: Champittet students have participated in climbing Kilimanjaro!
Yes, and it was great! I was initially thinking of the Mount Meru - the one next to Kilimanjaro but half of its size. That would’ve been an easier challenge.
Victor: A more personal question - do you have a favourite book?
Yes, I do and I love reading! One of my favourite books is pretty humorous: “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller. I have really enjoyed reading it. Another book I’ve read more recently and found really interesting is called “Thank You for Being Late” by Thomas L. Friedman. It talks about the pace of change that we are experiencing around us. Actually, have you ever heard about the system called Moore’s law which is actively mentioned in the book? In 1963, Gordon Moore reckoned that the processing power of a microchip would double every couple of years. At that time, people thought this would last only for a few years, but it kept happening for more than 60 years now. The compound power of the microchip continuing this exponential growth signifies that people might soon find it difficult to keep up with the development of technologies. Friedman’s book explains the challenge humans are facing right now with all those unexpected transformations.
Misha: Teenagers, particularly those studying in Nord Anglia schools, often use popular heroes as a source for their motivation. You saw this as one of the elements of their STEAM projects. Who is your motivating or inspiring hero in daily life?
I usually think of people who did a great job in the United Nations organisation. I personally follow the UNICEF tweeter feeds about the issues of clean water in Africa, addressing education in some of the most difficult areas of the world, rights of women and children… The work these people are doing could be described as selfless. Often, their activities are carried out in conditions which are so difficult that I think of getting less complacent about what I am doing in the world.
Victor: You joined Nord Anglia Education in 2003, the year when I was born. How do you see the organisation and the world in another 16 years?
I think, my work in the organisation provided the possibility of continuing to benefit. As we grow, it has to benefit everybody: you as students, the people that work for NAE, and the parents. If we do that, Nord Anglia will continue growing and we will have an opportunity of doing more compelling things for the schools, creating an education that nobody else can create and no other school can aspire to. This is the goal for us as we carry on our development. I am persuaded that Nord Anglia will have hundreds of schools in 16 years time and hundreds of thousands of students, maybe as many as a million. As for the world, it is difficult to view without a crystal ball. So many things are on their way of getting disrupted right now. I often think of big automotive organisations: Ford was leading the market for a hundred of years and was a part of those major organisations that have built up over many decades. If you would have told me ten years ago that a new company will become more valuable than any of those automotive conglomerates with their centuries of history and their processing plants all around the world, I would say: you are kidding me! Nowadays, the world that we live in is changing and Tesla has entered international competition. The way we do things is getting reinvented. This is really exciting, but I prefer not making any predictions. We will just have to get very good at accommodating change with its incredible speed!
" We will just have to get very good at accommodating change with its incredible speed! "
Misha & Victor: Thank you!
Thank you very much! Very interesting questions!