Chief Executive Officer
Ian Crichton is Chief Executive Officer for global education provider Study Group.
Over an international career in business spanning over 30 years, Ian has worked in over 50 countries in sectors including in blue chip (FMCG) companies, electronics, health informatics, business services and software, for the last 18 years as MD or CEO. He also served in the public sector as Chief Executive of NHS National Services Scotland, where through Blood Transfusion, Health Protection, Facilities Management and Digital / Health Informatics services he worked closely facilitating top British Universities’ research, enabling better access to and use of patient data. He also Chaired Scotland's National Infertility Group, was a member of the Scottish Medicine's Consortium, and various ministerial advisory groups.
Ian’s articles on the changing nature and enduring benefits of global education have been published in the UK, India, China and East Asia. He describes participation in global education as a life-changing opportunity to gain an excellent degree while also developing the kind of global mindset and perspectives essential to problem-solving in a multi-polar world.
Ian is a proud graduate of the University of Aberdeen in his home country of Scotland, and has also undertaken executive education at CEDEP (INSEAD), Harvard University and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.
Executive Director, External Affairs
Ruth Arnold is the Executive Director of External Affairs for international education provider Study Group and a consultant to UK universities and sector bodies. She has worked in higher education for 30 years, including on university-commercial partnerships with multinational companies and latterly as a Director of Public Affairs at the University of Sheffield.
Ruth served on the International Working Group of the Student Futures Commission and has given in-person evidence to parliamentary committees on the public benefit of international education and its impact on the national and regional economy. She continues to serve on a number of national and regional higher education advisory and policy groups such as the London Higher International group and she is a long-standing Advisor to the National Indian Students and Alumni Union.
Ruth is well-known across the international education sector as a co-founder of the award-winning #WeAreInternational campaign which inspired the US #YouAreWelcomeHere. She continues her connection to the original campaign as an annual selector of #WeAreInternational ambassadors for UKCISA, supports the relaunched #WeAreInternational and #StudyLondon campaigns, regularly speaks at sector events, and writes for international and higher education publications.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Ruth was named a global finalist in the Educational Marketing Group International Brand Master awards and received the prestigious Professional International Education ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ Award in 2020.
Chief Partnerships Officer
July Behl has an extensive track record in strategic partnerships and business development, including a focus on strategic innovation and driving growth for major corporates. He was previously Vice-President for Growth and Strategic Partnerships with global business transformation and development firm, and Director of Strategic Partnerships for education provider Pearson. He has also held senior development roles in leading multinational companies in engineering, development and media.
July Behl is passionately committed to the impact of international education on individuals and society. He has a bachelors degree with honours in History from Delhi University and an MBA from The University of Edinburgh.
Chief Financial Officer
Simon joined Study Group as Chief Financial Officer in April 2023.
Prior to Study Group, Simon has spent the last 20 years as a successful CFO at a number of UK entities, gaining experience of a range of sectors, scales and governance structures. Since 2009, he has focussed on health and education. His immediately preceding roles were as CFO at Connect Health (physiotherapy services to the NHS) and prior to that he was CFO at Servelec (IT software to the public sector) until their successful exit to The Access Group in August 2021, where he worked with our Chief Executive, Ian Crichton. His earlier CFO experiences include Serco (Healthcare FM), Edinburgh Napier University and NHS National Services Scotland.
After Simon qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he spent many years developing his commercial and skills in a range of finance and operational roles in large-scale food and drink businesses including Guinness, Bass, Burton’s Biscuits and Scottish & Newcastle.
Simon lives in Edinburgh with his wife Kathryn and their family.
Executive Director, Partner Management & Operations, RoW
Anthony has worked globally across many industries, with business leadership positions in the medical sector, with ResMed, where he was in charge of global supply operations and more recently the Chief Operating Officer of ResMed’s German Healthcare Business and the scientific sector with Leica, where he was responsible for global processes.
Anthony has held various technology roles, including CIO within the life science, industrial and software sectors, with companies including United Technologies and Xerox, where he worked closely with business leaders to streamline processes and systems architecture to speed up internal processes and make life easier for their customers. Anthony has worked in the USA, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Chief Revenue Officer
Steve joined Study Group in May 2021, bringing to the company over 29 years of sales and management experience. Now based in Singapore, Steve’s career in transformational and entrepreneurial leadership roles spans Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Steve has primarily worked across the technology sector in sales, business development and transformation roles in companies such as HP, EMC and Microsoft. Before joining Study Group, Steve was part of a Silicon Valley technology start-up, setting up presence and growth in Asia.
Executive Director, Organisational Effectiveness
Ed Griffin is responsible for leading the delivery of HR services globally and helping to build a working environment where people can work and grow to their potential. He is also responsible for the delivery of programme and project management across the business.
Ed has worked as an HR leader in international sport, the NHS and at the British Council. He has extensive international experience that has taken him to a wide range of countries that have included Brazil, Singapore, the USA, Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria and across Europe. His work as a consultant gave him experience of working across many sectors including Education, technology and consultancy, telecoms, financial services, not-for-profits and government departments. His consultancy work included strategy development with top teams, development work with HR professionals, and running international leadership development teams. He has written, researched and spoke at conferences about Organisational Development and HR.
Managing Director, UK & Europe
James Pitman is Study Group's Managing Director for UK and Europe. James is also the Chair of Exporting Education UK and Chair of Independent Higher Education. He is a member of the British Council’s Higher Education Advisory Group and Destination for Education, a coalition supporting the UK education export sector, and was a founding advisor to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Students.
Prior to joining Study Group in February 2007, James was Managing Director of the EMEA businesses of Rosetta Stone, a market leading, global e-learning software provider.
During the 1990s, James held a variety of senior international roles, including those of Vice President of International Marketing and Vice President of Operations and Business Development with Warner Music International and EMI Music. This followed eight years in international education publishing.
James has a BA(Hons) and MA from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and a MBA from IMD in Switzerland.
Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcón
Chief Academic Officer
With over 20 years of experience in higher education (HE), Elena is a nationally and internationally recognised expert and leader in enterprise and engineering education, inclusive and international learning and teaching, and change management.
Elena has a distinguished record of achievements and recognitions, including being a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of the first twelve Principal Fellows of the AdvanceHE/HEA in the UK, and the 2020 Woman of the Year in Technology. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, the Chartered Management Institute, and the Women's Engineering Society.
Elena is passionate about engaging and empowering students, staff, and stakeholders through innovative and impactful global educational initiatives and programmes.
She is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of EDT, a nationwide educational charity that provides STE(A)M-focused opportunities for young people. Elena is also President of, her Alma Mater’s Mexican, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León’s International Advisory Board.
Professor Rodriguez-Falcón famously led the creation of the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) as President and CEO, a pioneering and ambitious higher education institute to transform engineering education in the UK.
Before joining Study Group, Elena was also Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), where she had oversight of the academic portfolio and strategy of the institution. Elena's mission is to drive change and innovation in HE, to support and empower international students, and to inspire the next generation of socially aware change makers.
Managing Director, Global Admissions and Student Services
Over a career spanning 28 years, Ravi Singh has built a name for his ability to turn around businesses and operations into sustainable operations. He helped make the loss-making Promotional Market business into a profitable business unit in less than 12 months and lead the exponential growth of ItzCash Cards, turning ItzCash into the only profitable prepaid payments issuer company in India. Prior to this, Ravi helped establish Western Union India as the largest agent network globally in the remittance world.
Prior to joining Study Group, Ravi was Head of Center of Excellence – International Operations and Head of Client Experience - India and Sri Lanka at Fiserv, a Fortune 500 company. As Head of Merchant Acquiring business at Fiserv, he led the ICICI Merchant Services, JV with ICICI Bank, which is among the top merchant acquiring companies in India.
Ravi has been recognized & awarded for his accomplishment as business and operations leader. He received “Man of Excellence Award” at India Achiever’s Forum in 2021 as a recognition of his professional achievement. Ravi has been invited as a guest speaker or panellist to multiple industry platforms including leading business news channels in India, such as ET Now & CNBC Awaaz.