Meet some of our inspiring key team members who hold global leadership and senior leadership roles in the company
Meet the Team
Simon Emmett
CEO
Simon leads the strategic direction and operational delivery of the IDP Connect, including strategic partnerships and developing people and culture. He joined the commercial teams in 2000, running individual divisions and became CEO in September 2015.
Rachel Collier
Head of People Experience
Joining IDP Connect at the end of 2018, Rachel is responsible for people strategy and operations, ensuring we create the best environments for our people to enjoy work, live our values, deliver amazing customer experiences, with great opportunities for personal and career growth. She has over 20 years of experience developing exceptional talent and leading transformation in the digital and technology sectors.
Patrick Whitfield
Group Commercial Director
Patrick is responsible for the UK, Europe and North American IDP Connect client teams, also working closely with the ANZ client teams. In his role, he works closely with clients, the IDP Connect advisory panels and internal product teams to research and define new products and services, thereby helping clients maximise outcomes.
Priyatham Rajagopalan
Chief Operating Officer
Priyatham joined us in 2005, having worked in the IT industry for 12 years. He heads up operations in India (Chennai and Delhi) including developing our websites, student enrolments, course records collection, advertising, ecommerce and Newgen sales.
Stuart Smith
Director of Product and Marketing
Stuart leads on product strategy ensuring our products delight our users and meet the needs of our clients. He joined IDP Connect in 2018 after 16 years in marketing and communications, most recently as Director of Student Recruitment & Marketing at the University of East London.
Jonah Duffin
Director of External Relations
Jonah joined IDP Connect in 2017 after 11 years at Birkbeck. He is responsible for leadership across Marketing and Communications, Network Engagement and Stakeholder Engagement implementing pro-active audience and partner engagement, marketing, communications and public and external relations strategies which maximise IDP Connect’s profile and tell our compelling story, across all our global markets.
Samir Shah
Head of Intelligence and Analytics
Samir joined us in 2019, having worked for several international organisations across travel-tech, financial services and consultancy. Samir is experienced in leveraging data and analytics to solve strategic business challenges and will play a leading role developing our internal data capabilities as well as our external intelligence, research and analytics services for clients.
Craig Bullen
Finance Director
As a qualified accountant with a broad range of strategic and operational experience across multinationals in UK, Australia and New Zealand, Craig is responsible for finance and IT within IDP Connect.
Devi Muralidharan
Delivery Director
Devi joined IDP Connect in 2006 with over 18 years of IT experience. She started as a Technical Lead and now heads up our IT division in Chennai. She ensures IT services are delivered which align with the company’s business needs.
Elle Butler
Head of Marketing North America
Working as IDP Connect’s Marketing Manager in the US, Elle Butler joined IDP Connect in 2019. She previously worked as the Marketing Manager of International Affairs at Temple University and before that as the Marketing Project Manager at King’s College. Elle is passionate about marketing strategy and content production. She believes that storytelling, personalisation, and forming human connections are key to successful branding.
Beilin Wu
Senior Product Manager
Beilin joined IDP Connect in 2014, managing products for international products. She now leads the product portfolio for UK markets, delivering user-focused strategies and roadmaps that produce a leading customer experience. She began her career working in multinationals, market research consultancy and media companies with a wealth of experience in delighting customers through well-designed products.
Cherie Metcalf
Head of Marketing and Communications (B2B)
Joining IDP Connect as the Head of Marketing and Communications (B2B), Cherie Metcalf brings over six years of experience in language travel and further education colleges as well as 15+ years of experience in marketing across a range of industries. Cherie oversees the UK’s B2B Marketing, Communications and events teams, ensuring quality and value for IDP Connect’s partners and a consistent brand voice across all platforms.
Christine Wach
Director of Client Partnerships (Canada)
Christine Wach became the Director of Client Partnerships for Canada in 2020 where she continues to build on 14 years of experience in student affairs. Christine has developed strategic partnerships in education, industry, and associations from the municipal to the international level. Christine leads the client team in Canada, overseeing IDP Connect’s commercial strategy and key initiatives from the regional office in Toronto.
Katie Duncan
Head of Communications APAC
Katie has 10 years’ experience in the international education industry and heads up the global B2B communications strategy for IDP Connect. An NCTJ-trained journalist, Katie is a former PIE News reporter and joined IDP Connect in 2015 as Editor of Hotcourses Abroad and Education UK.
Ed Kelly
Head of Client Partnerships (International)
Ed joined IDP Connect in 2014 after working with The Independent’s education team. He currently leads our international client partnerships team in the UK and Europe, working with universities to help grow and diversify their international student recruitment.
Camilla King
Head of Client Partnerships (UK)
Camilla has been working at IDP Connect for 7 years and now oversees all UK sales. Her team builds strategic relationships with UK universities, colleges, private providers and online providers to ensure better recruitment outcomes.
Cicely Oliver
Managing Editor
Cicely is Managing Editor of the Complete University Guide, publishing the UK university league tables and content to help users to make the best decisions about their higher education. She began her career with one of the world’s largest publishing companies and has worked in reference publishing for 30 years, joining the Complete University Guide team in 2007.
Parveen Downer
Senior Product Manager
Parveen leads on IDP Connect’s product portfolio focused on client experience. She joined IDP Connect in 2020 bringing a wealth of experience from her background in start-ups, the NHS, and higher education student retention.
Angela Rapley
Head of Brand and Content
With over 20 years of production and branded content experience, Angela is responsible for designing and delivering brand, social and content strategies to position our B2C brands as market leaders, delivering significant organic growth. She leads the integration and development of our global brand, content, SEO and social teams to deliver exceptional outcomes for our users, clients and the overall IDP business.
Hien Bach
International Marketing Lead
Having joined in 2011, Hien has previous experience in managing international portfolios across various websites and markets to plan and deliver effective multi-channel marketing strategies for international portfolio. Responsibility also includes leading cross-functional teams to bring about fundamental change and improvement in strategy and process.
Taisija Turockina
Group Accountant
Taisija joined us in 2012 and has 12 years of experience in finances supported by project management skills gained. Taisija provides financial support and guidance for the IDP Connect group of companies across 4 countries. She is also passionate about improvements of finance processes, systems and reporting.
James Bennett
HEAD OF BUSINESS DELIVERY AND EVOLUTION
James is responsible for the team supporting the Client Managers’ engagement with IDP Connect clients. He also works across the IDP Connect global teams to help shape and develop new products and services for clients and sits on the AIEC Steering Comittee. James Joined IDP Education in 2009 and prior to that was at Monash University.
