FutureLearn.com has appointed Ron Kalifa OBE as chair.
The online learning platform offers short-courses, micro-credentials and fully online degrees to over 10 million learners worldwide on behalf of over 150 high quality universities and leading organisations.
Kalifa, a strategic and operational leader in the field of eCommerce and financial systems, will bring his commercial and relevant experience to help FutureLearn become a leading global platform for digital and online courses, particularly from his time spearheading the growth of Worldpay, the leading international payments platform, where he served as CEO and Vice Chairman.
Kalifa said: “EdTech is a critical enabler for the future of education and an enormously exciting sector right now, with VC funding growing 14 fold in the last decade.
“Collaboration is one of the most important enablers for success and FutureLearn already works with a quarter of the world’s top universities.
“The partnership promotes collaboration between these universities and industry partners to create valuable and useable content accessible to the masses. This is a great foundation for success.
“FutureLearn is at the heart of a revolution in access to education and I’m looking forward to being part of it.”
Simon Nelson, Chief Executive, FutureLearn, commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Ron to the wider FutureLearn team as our independent Chair.
“Of course, his experience speaks for itself so I have no doubt that he’s going to be a tremendous driving force for our future success, but what I’m especially excited by is his shared passion and vision for our purpose of transforming access to education.”
Kalifa was appointed a Non-Executive Director (NED) of the Court of Directors to the Bank of England in June 2019 and is on the Council of Imperial College, London.
Additionally, Ron is a NED for Transport for London and the England and Wales Cricket The Hundred Board, as well as an Operating Partner for Advent International.
He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year 2018 Honours List for services to financial services and technology.