Bill

CEO and Co-Founder
EF Englishtown (Hong Kong & China)

Determined to accelerate the pace at which he was learning Swedish, Bill developed a computer program to help him study. This resourcefulness turned out to be a key factor in winning over EF founder, Bertil Hult. EF's dynamic corporate culture was the perfect environment for the two to discuss new technology and how it could be utilized in language education. The ideas flowed freely from there and in 1993, EF offered Bill the job of establishing its new media division. Bill's ingenuity, coupled with EF's thirst for innovation and willingness to make smart long-term investments are how Englishtown, the world's most advanced language learning system today, was born.

Bill's pastimes include hiking in the Hong Kong hills; practicing yoga (he's done so in 10 different countries!); reliving former glories on his electric guitar and learning Chinese. With the explosive growth of China as a global market force, he realizes the potential for language education there is phenomenal. Bill has a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Enio

Chief Scientist
EF Englishtown (China)

As a former Senior Scientist at Apple Inc., Enio used his extensive experience and expertise to help build and design Englishtown. In his time with Englishtown, Enio has led ground-breaking research in cognitive science and computer technology - looking at their application in English training. Enio has a natural aptitude for languages. A Japanese born in Brazil, he's fluent in English and Portuguese; conversant in Spanish; has an intermediate command of Japanese and can speak elementary level Chinese. At Englishtown, Enio works alongside top-level executives and leading academic researchers from across China and the world. His ability to recognize and cultivate raw talent is a big part of the supportive and stimulating work environment those around him enjoy. Enio holds a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence & Education from Northwestern University and a Masters in Computer Science from George Washington University.

Brian

VP of Global Product Development and Strategy
EF Englishtown (China)

Being a dog lover, Brian enjoys spending his time with his yellow Labrador. He also likes to play football, travel and learn new languages. Born in Canada, Brian grew up in Michigan in the US. Having also lived in Poland, Brian has at one time or another been comfortably conversant in Polish, German, and French.

One of the best things about Brian's job is that he gets to build cool things. At Englishtown, he works with a talented creative, academic and technical team. Together, they focus on delivering a vibrantly effective English learning experience through online courses and study tools, as well as offline instructional materials. Brian's team aims to revolutionize the way that people learn English. Every day that they are hard at work in the office, they take a step closer towards realizing that goal. Currently based in Shanghai, Brian is building his Mandarin skills. He has a Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Michigan, as well as a Masters in Applied Linguistics from the University of Illinois.

Eric

VP of Information Systems
EF Englishtown (China)

Eric is a man who cares about quality and details. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Eric studied Anthropology in school and now spends most of his free time reading books and watching movies. Having studied Thai, Japanese, French and Mandarin Chinese, he also knows what it takes to learn a new language. An American who has lived in Asia for over 10 years, Eric loves working with our students and staff to satisfy customers 110%. Eric designed EF's Student Satisfaction Index (SSI), a formula that measures student satisfaction and feedback and incorporates it directly into the service provided by our schools. Eric earned his Bachelors degree in Anthropology and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard.

Julio

VP of Europe and Americas
EF Englishtown (Brazil)

After finishing business school in São Paulo, Julio initially took a job as a banker at Credit Suisse First Boston, before he headed for a change of scene in North America. His strong entrepreneurial spirit led him back to Brazil where he opened a training business. This was also when he began to study e-learning. After 5 years in his own business, Julio was hired by EF to start up Englishtown in Brazil as Country Manager.

Julio initially ran the business in just Brazil. It was not long before he diversified his expertise into South America as a whole. Today, he is in charge of Europe and the Americas, overseeing all of Englishtown's Western operations. He leads the sales, marketing and business development of Englishtown in these areas. The Sao Paulo office currently boasts more than 100 staff and is a successful venture with an impressive brand profile. Julio has a bachelor degree in Business Administration from Sao Paulo's Fundacao Getulio Vargas, widely considered the best Business School in Latin America.

He is an ardent soccer fan. In his spare time, he fancies himself something of an amateur soccer journalist too.

Francisco

VP for Hispanic Region
EF Englishtown (Mexico)

Born in Mexico City and raised in Monterrey, Francisco is fluent in Spanish and English. Before Englishtown, he was a Consultant and Strategic Planning Director for snack food company, Frito Lay. There, he was one of the key strategic minds responsible for setting the corporate vision. Now, every month at Englishtown he meets, hires, and helps to develop smart new talents who share the same values and passion for what he does. He thrives on the regular opportunities to drive negotiations, nurture fresh partnerships, implement marketing plans and build new sales channels. Bringing all these initiatives to life is tremendously satisfying for him.

As well as nurturing a huge passion for music, especially the flamenco, alternative and Indie genres, Francisco also loves to play guitar, practice yoga and go mountain biking. Creating a culture focused around Englishtown's core values has turned out to be personally, and not just professionally, significant for him. The father of two young girls, he spends most of his free time with his children who are just now starting to develop their own characters and values. Francisco holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Monterrey Tech, Mexico and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

KyungJin

Regional Director for Asia
EF Englishtown (Hong Kong)

Fluent in Korean, English, French and currently learning Japanese, KyungJin was born in Seoul and has lived in six different countries. She previously worked in brand management for a French multinational in Paris before joining EF's Study Abroad division in Hong Kong.

KyungJin splits her time between traveling, work and a love for the outdoors. She loves to hike, golf and ski. With no snow-capped mountains in sultry Hong Kong, she makes the most of her trips back to Seoul and Tokyo. Leading EF's online business for North and South Asian markets, KyungJin now has her heart set on growing the business in Indonesia. She obtained her degrees at HEC Paris and Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Sam

President for Greater China
EF Englishtown (Hong Kong)

Sam was born in Hong Kong, but raised and educated in Canada. He has worked in various parts of the world. Originally, Sam wanted planned to enroll in medical school. Happily for us, he changed his mind; otherwise, it would have been a total waste of his entrepreneurial skills and killer instinct. Sam started with EF in 2003 and is responsible for building the Englishtown business in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The project was a runaway success. Eventually, this success became a blueprint for various business models created across the EF Group.

In 2006, Sam began to develop Englishtown's business in China. Today, he continues to help millions of Chinese students master real English and change their lives for the better. Prior to joining EF, Sam held a number of senior management positions across an array of industries, from CRM consulting to internet startups to the automotive industries. He worked with multinationals including ICLP, JobsDB.com, Commission Junction and Toyota Motor Corporation. Sam is fluent in Cantonese, English and Mandarin. He holds an Honors degree in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing, from York University in Toronto.

Michael

VP of Marketing and Business Development
EF English First (China)

In another life, Michael would have been an actor or an artist. He starred in musicals and television commercials before going full time into business, working at News Corporation, Bertelsmann, and PricewaterhouseCoopers before joining EF to run English First¡¦s China-wide marketing and business development. Although raised in Australia, Michael is fluent in Mandarin too. He possesses a rare combination of creative flair and business savvy. He's used these powerful traits to devise marketing campaigns aimed at Chinese professionals. So successful have these promotions been, our business in this segment has grown by over 300%.

Andrew

President
EF Englishtown

Andrew's road to Englishtown was a long and winding one. Having held a number of leadership positions in marketing early in his career, as well as a stint as a woodshop apprentice, Andrew ran marketing for kodakgallery.com (formerly ofoto), served as the general manager for the 180MUSD US business of Ancestry.com, the world's largest online service for genealogy (and a very aggressive online and TV advertiser in the US), and ran Blurb, an online photo album service.

At Englishtown, Andrew directly manages all sales, marketing, and user experience functions for the Englishtown consumer online and tele-sales business. Andrew is not only a capable businessman but married with 2 kids, flies old airplanes, loves anything with a combustion engine, speaks fluent Spanish (thanks to his Colombian heritage) and plans to climb Mt. Rainier this year in a self-proclaimed attempt to fend off the aging process.