Jaimie was schooled in Malta and the UK, where she graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Gloucestershire. During her time at university, she was Head of Public Relations and Promotions at a student-led radio station. She will soon be working towards her masters in Marketing and Digital Communications.
Alex grew up in rural England, completing his A-level studies at a consortium of schools in the midlands. He was the first in his family to attain the grades required to attend university, and moved to the south coast after completing sixth form. Here, he studied Psychology with Neuroscience, obtaining a first class honors degree.
During these studies he developed an interest in a number of fields, including education. He was inspired by the impacts that could be made when applying results from the academic study of learning. He also became fascinated by the conscious experience of people, as well as how the narratives they understood could shape their lives.
As a first generation scholar, Alex found his life enriched in a number of ways outside of his studies: he became involved in cycling, rock climbing, as well as theatre arts. He began to work as a student ambassador for the university, running talks and tours on campus, as well as visiting schools from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.
Following the completion of his degree, he began full time work at the University of Sussex within Student Recruitment and Admissions. In addition to his work with prospective students and their families, he also worked alongside senior management and academic selectors to establish fair and transparent admissions procedures for students in the UK and abroad. He also led a team of staff in processing over 26,000 university applications annually.
After five years Alex moved to a consultancy role, assisting the institution as it entered a period of significant change. This also permitted him time to explore a number of other interests, including working for a burgeoning zero emission logistics company, Zedify Brighton, as well as performing at Fringe theatre festivals.
In 2019 a career opportunity emerged in the Emirates, and Alex began working for Tutoring Club. He managed two centers during his tenure, one in Mudon, the other in the Springs Souk. Alex was responsible for ensuring a high standard of tuition quality across the student body, as well as academic consultation and guidance for students and their families. He helped navigate the disruption caused by COVID, as well as the recovery and return to service. Both centers rebuilt their student body rapidly, and generated revenue exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Alex now looks to apply these skills in his new role as the General Manager of The Tutoring Center and Neoversity. Together, these centers facilitate the development of core academic skills in English and Mathematics, as well as global and applied academic skills in Modern Foreign Languages, Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Art and Design, as well as Business and Economics. Alex looks forward to establishing these centers in the MENA region, as well as following the progress of his graduating students in the coming years.
Alex is married to Rebekah, a Board Certified Behavioural Analyst, working predominantly with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Together, they form a family passionate about the value of broad and inclusive education for all.
Judy is an Executive Assistant with 21 years of enriching experience working in the UAE. Having graduated from Bombay University with a Sociology major, she has completed her Executive Secretarial Course from Burnleys Commercial College, Mumbai. She finished her schooling at St Joseph's Carmel Convent.
Giles Pruett is an educator through and through. After completing his A-Level studies in the UK, he trained and competed as a professional tennis player for five years until moving back into full-time study to complete his Bachelor of Education at Bedford, reading Geography and Sport Science. He immediately returned to his home city of Bath and subsequently started his teaching career as Director of Rugby, Boarding Housemaster and Geography teacher in the independent community of Prior Park College. After completing a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Management at Bath University in 2012, gaining a distinction level, Giles transferred into the international education community, joining Jumeirah College in Dubai as Vice-Principal, where he remained for four years, before becoming Secondary Principal and Deputy Head of School at GEMS World Academy, helping them to become the highest rated full IB programme school in the city.
Giles is also a qualified corporate coach with a specific interest in building impactful professional learning communities by empowering others. He has developed pastoral structures to support learning and development in three previous leadership positions, ensuring that educational outcomes have been met and exceeded. Giles has experienced and driven inspection outcomes as a Senior Leader within several different frameworks, including Ofsted, HMI, CSCI, DSIB, CIS, BSO, COBIS, working as a Lead Reviewer within the GEMS organization and as Lead Evaluator for the Council of International Schools. His core inspection specialisms fall under the domains of teaching and learning, safeguarding, child protection and leadership and management.
Giles brings a wealth of experience in coaching, school operations, pastoral care and strategic school leadership and has been instrumental in developing an Apple Distinguished Teaching Programme, Entrepreneurship and Innovation curriculum alongside the design and construction of a new Senior School Learning Centre and Entrepreneurship Hub. He has a keen interest in this strand of education, recently completing a diploma from the Penn Graduate school of Education.
Above all else, Giles is a committed father to three wonderful girls and a husband to Joanna, who is also an educator and former British Olympic Modern Pentathlete. Together they share a passion for working with children, striving to bring learning to life and making a difference.
Born in the land of Sindh, Mohan Valrani landed in Dubai in 1966 and 5 years later he partnered with Abdulla Al Shirawi to set up what is today known as the Al Shirawi Group. Under Mohan Valrani’s leadership, the Al Shirawi Group has become one of the largest conglomerates in the United Arab Emirates consisting of 34 companies in an array of industries, including Printing & Packaging, Electronics, Logistics, Oil & Gas, Engineering Services, Heavy Equipment and various Steel Processing and Manufacturing Industries.
Today, Mohan Valrani has pursued his passion for education by founding a company to provide K-12 education in the UAE. Under the brand name of Arcadia, Mohan Valrani plans to build a number of schools providing a high quality British education to children within the UAE.
Apart from his business activities, Mohan Valrani is also at the forefront of social activities. He was the founding Chairman and member of the Board of Trustees of the India Club. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees as well as the founding Chairman of the Indian High School, the largest non-profit school in the UAE.
Mohan Valrani is happily married for the last 48 years and has 3 children and 7 grandchildren. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from Baroda University. He is a generous philanthropist, an avid bridge player, a keen reader and enjoys doing yoga on daily basis.
Raised in the city of Dubai, Navin Valrani went on to graduate with honours from the Wharton School of Business and then backed it up with a distinction in his MBA at London Business School and a MSc. in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Navin today is the CEO of Arcadia Education, the Al Shirawi Group’s foray into K-12 education. He also heads up the group’s engineering services cluster, consisting of 11 companies, 7 Joint Ventures, and over 5000 employees. Navin sits on the board of the group, which also has interests in Printing, Oil and Gas, Logistics, Electronics, Heavy Equipment and Manufacturing Industries.
Navin served as the Chairman of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Emirates Chapter during the 2014-15 year, having served over five years on the chapter board. In his spare time he enjoys giving back to his alma maters: presently on the Board of Overseers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education as well as the Wharton Executive Board for Europe, Middle East and Africa; serving as the Chairperson of the UAE Alumni Interviewing Committee for the University of Pennsylvania for the last 25 years; and a member of the International Alumni Council at London Business School from 2013 through to 2018.
In 2014, Navin furthered his commitment to his alma maters by instituting the Monica and Navin Valrani scholarship fund to support female students to attend both schools. Navin was also an integral part of the Campaign Committee at London Business School to successfully raise over £100 million in the school’s first ever fund-raising campaign.
Navin has been happily married for the last 23 years and has two sons. His wife, Monica, runs the Ladybird chain of nursery schools in Dubai and has a passion for early years education. Navin also teaches the renowned Junior MBA programme at The Arcadia Preparatory School, a primary school business program that he founded and is extremely passionate about.
With over 12 years of experience in business and finance and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Pamela is passionate about shaping the future of organisations and helping them deliver growth. A high-energy, tenacious and goal-driven leader, she has a proven track record of identifying new opportunities, forging long-term strategic alliances, and offering the clients real and innovative solutions to their problems.
Today, Pamela is the Director – Strategic Alliances at The Arcadia Preparatory School. In her current role, she oversees the complete business development activities and creates long-term value for the institution. Previously, Pamela has served as Head of Business Strategy at London Business School (LBS), where she defined, set-up and delivered LBS Dubai business development and outreach strategy for the MENA region. Prior to that, she was Head of Customised Solutions at Thomson Reuters, also spent five years at Zawya where she led and managed the Financial Solutions Division content and product teams.
Pamela is also a co-founder, board member and mentor at Reach, a non-profit organisation registered in DIFC that is dedicated to helping young professional women unlock their true potential through structured mentoring and professional support. Pamela believes in continuous self-development and holds several certifications from various prestigious institutes such as the Coach Training Institute (CTI), Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM). She has completed a Masters in Economics from University of London, UK; and a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
Dileep Yadav graduated in Accounting and Finance in 1999 from the University of Mumbai, India. He is also a certified Investment Advisor and keeps abreast of market movements. After working for six years with renowned companies in Mumbai as Finance Manager, he moved to Dubai in 2006. He joined the Al Shirawi Group as a Senior Auditor and thus began his close association with Mohan Valrani.
Dileep was a key member in developing the Silicon Oasis branch of the Indian High School, playing a major part in the supervision of the school’s construction and also served as an honorary adviser to the Board. When Arcadia Education embarked upon its ambitious programme of the school building in 2013, Dileep assisted in the negotiation of the construction contracts and subsequent supervision of them.
He is presently overseeing all the aspects of the administration and financial management of Arcadia Education and its related companies.
