Executive Committee

Ruth Arnold

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 and latterly as Director of Public Affairs at the University of Sheffield.

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 is a regular contributor to international education publications, seminars and conferences, is an Advisor to the National Indian Students and Alumni Union and London Higher, and has served on a number of sector bodies and working groups, including the U.K. Student Futures Commission.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Ruth received the prestigious Professional International Education ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ Award in 2020.

Simon Belfer

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.

Anthony Claridge

Executive Director, Growth Markets

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.

Steve Goh

Executive Director, East Asia and ASEAN

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.

Ed Griffin

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.

Gaurav Singh Jadaun

Executive Director, Strategy and Insights 

Gaurav is Executive Director, Strategy & Insights at global education provider Study Group. He brings over 20 years of experience shaping growth, go-to-market strategies, and business transformation across global organisations. Gaurav’s career spans strategy and product innovation, strategic marketing, business and data analytics, market and competitive analysis, and business planning, with a consistent focus on turning insight into commercially sustainable outcomes.

Operating at the intersection of strategy, markets, and execution, he has played a central role in the development and scaling of new business lines, shaped go-to-market strategies across diverse geographies, and contributed to strategic partnerships and mergers and acquisitions that strengthen long-term competitiveness.

Prior to joining Study Group, Gaurav held senior strategy roles at Honeywell, a Fortune 100 technology company, partnering with global leadership teams to shape long-term growth strategies across high-growth and emerging markets. Earlier in his career, he worked in management consulting, advising companies of differing scale on growth strategy, go-to-market transformation, and value creation. He began his career in global engineering-led businesses, managing complex client relationships and leading full sales cycles with Fortune 500 customers across sectors including oil and gas, heavy engineering, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals.

An international student himself, Gaurav brings first-hand insight and experience into the global student journeys and has witnessed the evolution of international education markets over time. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Production Engineering from the University of Pune, an MBA from the University of Leeds, and has completed executive education in Business Analytics at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

James Pitman

Executive Director, Policy and Government Relations

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

Provost and Chief Innovation 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.

Professor Melinda Tan MBE

Chief Academic Officer for the UK & Ireland

Prior to this appointment, Professor Tan served as Executive Dean at Study Group, where she provided strategic, academic and operational leadership across multiple International Study Centres. In this role, she led Centre Directors and academic teams to deliver an outstanding student experience through the integration of education, active research and professional practice. She is passionate about being a highly effective ambassador for Study Group, shaping strategic priorities, enhancing financial performance and driving cross-functional innovation across the network.

Professor Tan brings extensive senior leadership experience from a 16-year career at the University of Central Lancashire, where she served as Rector, Dean of School and Faculty Director for Business Development (International). She played a leading role in establishing international branch campuses, expanding global partnerships, strengthening international recruitment and spearheading the University’s Athena Swan submission. As Rector of UCLan Cyprus, she oversaw major institutional transformation, enhanced academic quality, secured competitive research funding and led the campus to multiple national awards.

Committed to advancing global education and cross-cultural collaboration, Professor Tan was awarded an MBE in 2018 for her services to British higher education overseas. 

Ravi Singh

Chief Operating Officer

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.

Robert Hanna

General Manager Middle East, Africa, Levant, Türkiye and Pakistan

Robert Hanna has an extensive track record in international education, commercial strategy, and multi-regional business growth. Robert is General Manager at Study Group, overseeing the Middle East, Africa, Levant, Turkiye, and Pakistan, where he is responsible for the development and growth of Study Group’s regional businesses.

Since joining Study Group in 2015, Robert has held a number of senior leadership roles, leading complex growth initiatives at both regional and global levels, including new market entry and the expansion of Study Group’s programmes worldwide. His career and academic journey have given him a truly international perspective, having lived and worked across Lebanon, Nigeria, the UAE, and the United Kingdom, and studied in Lebanon and France.

Robert holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Université Saint Joseph in Lebanon, completed a postgraduate degree in Financial Management at the University of Nancy in France, and has passed Chartered Financial Analyst Level 1. As a former international student himself, he is deeply committed to expanding access to high-quality international education and enabling student success globally.