David Simmons

Background

David has spent his professional life in management and education, initially as a teacher and Head teacher. He was the founding Head of an international school in France (now with more than 350 students). He then spent 15 years in educational publishing, as European Manager for Oxford University Press, and subsequently as Sales Director, EMEA-ELT (English Language Teaching) Division of Pearson, owners of The Financial Times. As a teacher trainer, David has led more than 100 seminars on language skills development in the classroom. David is a past member of the External Relations Advisory Committee of the European Federation of Management Development (EFMD) and has participated in school accreditation panels on behalf of AMBA. He holds a Masters degree in English Literature and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education, both from the University of Cambridge. Beyond Cranfield, David is a practising adult and youth magistrate (Justice of the Peace), sitting on the Cambridge bench.

Current activities

David is Executive Director of the Full-time MBA, MBA Admissions Director and Director of International Development. David runs the International Business Experience on the MBA programme, which involves all MBA students undertaking international assignments; countries visited in the past few years include Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, USA and Vietnam. David is actively involved in MBA recruitment and alumni relations, and has visited more than 35 countries on Cranfield''s behalf. In addition, he promotes the School to the worldwide business community, oversees the School''s global academic links and manages the School''s various accreditations (EQUIS, AACSB, AMBA).