Our Leadership - NextEd Group

Mark Kehoe

Chief Executive Officer

Mark brings over 30 years of experience and a proven track record leading companies through industries which are undergoing change. He has held executive roles in market leading businesses included Grays Group, Virgin Australia and online marketplace and media group Gumtree / CarsGuide / Autotrader. In each of these, Mark has successfully led material transformation initiatives, increasing customer demand and operational scale.

Jacopo Corona

General Manager – Go Study Australia

Jacopo Corona is an accomplished professional in the education and international student recruitment industry. With a strong background in business administration from Italy’s esteemed Bocconi University, Jacopo’s journey began in 2007 when he embarked on a Working Holiday visa to Australia to study English, work, and travel.

Inspired by his transformative experience, Jacopo founded Go Study Australia – Italy in 2010, establishing offices in Milan and later in Rome. Under his leadership, Go Study Australia quickly emerged as the leading agency specializing in Australian study programs for Italian students. Furthermore, Jacopo spearheaded the organisation’s global marketing efforts, positioning the Italian headquarters as the Digital Marketing Global Team hub.

In 2018 Jacopo relocated to Australia, and now serves as the General Manager of Go Study Australia, where he continues to drive Go Study Australia’s global success, fostering educational opportunities for students worldwide.

Shin Shimizu

General Manager – Business Development & National Head of Operations

Shin has decades of experience in leadership and management roles across various industries including tourism, hospitality, and tertiary education.

Shin started in the education industry in 2002, before joining Greenwich English College in 2006 as General Manager, with concurrent responsibilities from 2012 as General Manager Operations RedHill (now NextEd). In 2015, Shin took on the role of General Manager Victoria, where he was responsible for building and leading multiple teams, in conjunction with the launch of the RedHill campus and its brands into the Melbourne market.

Currently based in Brisbane, his role now sees him lead a national team which oversees the group’s facilities and operations, the management of property, leases, campus expansion and fitouts, and material business contracts. He is looking at the next growth opportunities for NextEd.

Jacopo Corona

General Manager – Go Study Australia

Jacopo Corona is an accomplished professional in the education and international student recruitment industry. With a strong background in business administration from Italy’s esteemed Bocconi University, Jacopo’s journey began in 2007 when he embarked on a Working Holiday visa to Australia to study English, work, and travel.

Inspired by his transformative experience, Jacopo founded Go Study Australia – Italy in 2010, establishing offices in Milan and later in Rome. Under his leadership, Go Study Australia quickly emerged as the leading agency specializing in Australian study programs for Italian students. Furthermore, Jacopo spearheaded the organisation’s global marketing efforts, positioning the Italian headquarters as the Digital Marketing Global Team hub.

In 2018 Jacopo relocated to Australia, and now serves as the General Manager of Go Study Australia, where he continues to drive Go Study Australia’s global success, fostering educational opportunities for students worldwide.

Eve Ollerenshaw

Pro Vice Chancellor & General Manager Group Quality, Accreditation and Compliance

Eve has over 40 years of education industry leadership and management experience peppered with commercial, government and consulting roles. She has worked in executive leadership roles at a number of exclusive Sydney independent schools, Stratco QLD, Australian Technical College, Carrick Education, Think Colleges, Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Australian government funded Workforce Futures program, and Scentia. Eve has owned and operated large retail outlets, a global consultancy business, and a sports management and coaching business.

She is recognised as a global leader in the area of ‘indigenous workforce development’ having spoken at a number of international conferences on this topic over the years. Eve has held a number of board appointments including Athletics NSW, LugeAustralia, the Queensland Studies Authority, and Independent Higher Education Australia, along with several not-for-profits.

In her role she is responsible for managing organisational compliance with domestic and overseas legislation, education industry registrations and accreditations, compliance with various regulatory bodies, governmental reporting, and new course accreditations.

Currently, Eve is the lead representative for Independent Education providers working with government and the tertiary sector to see the return of international students, as well as contributing to a range of sector and government committees, working groups, advisory activities and consortia, and in her spare time provides support on a voluntary basis for various international student organisations in NSW.

Eve has undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in education as well as being qualified in corporate governance and risk management.

Ben Poppy

General Manager – Domestic Vocational

With over a decade of experience in the Vocational Education and Training Sector, Ben has held several senior management positions with registered training organisations, across various industries. This experience has enabled a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities that exist in the VET space.

Ben has a passion for education which has led him to work tirelessly to create a positive impact in the lives of students. Ben’s expertise is in focusing on innovation and excellence and has been able to implement strategies that have significantly enhanced training outcomes for students aligned with industry expectations in the domestic sector.

Ben is committed to creating a positive and productive culture and building strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. In his role as General Manager Domestic, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the domestic division and will drive strategic growth across the domestic brands.

Simon Costain

General Manager – International Business Development

Simon has worked in the fields of international marketing, education management and student recruitment since 2004. He began his career as the director of sales and marketing for a large US-based non-profit voluntourism business where he refined the skills of managing global sales teams and creating proactive marketing strategies to engage student-aged travellers.

He later joined RedHill Education and the General Manager of Marketing and supported the growth of colleges such as Greenwich English/Management College and Academy of Information Technology. Since moving over to Go Study in 2016, Simon has transformed the business into a powerhouse of student recruitment, an industry leader in education services and global marketing.

Simon is an advocate of student rights and welfare, having been a foundational supporter of the first ever NSE International Student Hub. He has an Executive MBA from University of Technology – Sydney, and has a passion for exploring creative collaborations to create new opportunities within the industry.

Morgan Sloper

Head of Strategy

Morgan has over 20 years’ experience working with ASX listed and multinational operations in Australia, Asia Pacific, the United States and internationally, developing and leading a broad range of portfolios, including Strategy, M&A, People & Culture, Governance, Risk and Legal.

Morgan has diverse, blue-chip experience across multiple industries, including education, not for profit, technology and telecommunications, intellectual property, distribution and logistics, lifestyle, leisure and entertainment, and real estate.

Having joined the NextEd Group in February 2023, Morgan brings extensive experience in strategy and deal structuring, a legal background and a risk intelligence lens to the business, enabling insightful and informed M&A and business improvement initiatives.

Roxana Ene

Executive General Manager – Greenwich College

Roxi started her career as a primary school teacher in her native country of Romania, and soon after decided to continue her studies at Transilvania University.

She worked as an English language and Romanian language teacher for 4 years in a high school in her hometown before relocating to Australia in 2004. When Roxi arrived in Australia, she became an English language teacher at Greenwich English College. In 2009 she was appointed to the role of Assistant Director of Studies, and in 2012 was promoted to Director of Studies. In 2017 Roxi was appointed as Greenwich Dean of Education to oversee all aspects of Greenwich course development and education delivery across its different campuses.

After 13 years of work at Greenwich College, Roxi was appointed to the role of General Manager overseeing all departments across Sydney and Melbourne campuses.

Michael Fahey

Chief Financial Officer

Michael has over 30 years of finance experience garnered across ASX listed and multinational companies across multiple business sectors including education, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, utilities and professional services.

Michael has worked at leading global organisations including Swiss based pharmaceutical company, Novartis, major ASX listed companies including AGL Energy Limited as well as smaller emerging entities.

Michael joined NextEd following the merger of iCollege with RedHill Education, where he held the position of Chief Financial Officer.

Michael brings deep functional finance and operational experience to NextEd including operational finance expertise, leading M&A transactions and implementing large-scale system transformations.

Michael has extensive international experience and has lived and worked in Switzerland, Singapore, England and the USA.

Michael is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Lisa Jones

Company Secretary

Lisa is an experienced corporate lawyer, corporate affairs adviser and company secretary with particular experience working with emerging and high growth companies in the biotech, media & technology and oil & gas sectors. She has a very commercial approach and practical understanding of issues facing management after having held executive roles in private and ASX listed companies.

Simon Tolhurst

Non-executive Director

Simon joined the board of iCollege (Now NextEd) as a Non-Executive chairman in 2017 where he guided corporate governance of the business while working closely with the board and management to facilitate the turnaround of the company. Simon stepped down as chair in July 2022, and remains on the board as an independent non-executive director. He is a Partner in HWL Ebsworth’s Brisbane office and has over 25 years of legal practice.

Emma Thompson

Head of People + Culture

Emma’s professional career spans over 20 years in a variety of business sectors including manufacturing, services, domestic real estate and education. The diversity of past roles in general management, operations, sales and human resource management has given Emma a sound commercial understanding of business and a strong ability to realise business outcomes.

Emma previously worked as General Manager Operations at the International School of Colour and Design. In this role she developed her passion for mentoring and motivating teams and focused her work on contemporary human resource management. She has since channelled this passion for constructive leadership through her current role as Head of People + Culture for NextEd. In her role, Emma is committed to delivering innovative, inclusive and impactful people strategies to support the business strategies within the organisation. With a People First philosophy, Emma believes that designing and delivering a people and culture strategy that maximises employee engagement and experience throughout the whole employee lifecycle, not only benefits the employees, but also adds value to the productivity and bottom line of the organisation.

Simon Costain

Executive General Manager – International Business Development

Simon has worked in the fields of international marketing, education management and student recruitment since 2004. He began his career as the director of sales and marketing for a large US-based non-profit voluntourism business where he refined the skills of managing global sales teams and creating proactive marketing strategies to engage student-aged travellers.

He later joined RedHill Education and the General Manager of Marketing and supported the growth of colleges such as Greenwich English/Management College and Academy of Information Technology. Since moving over to Go Study in 2016, Simon has transformed the business into a powerhouse of student recruitment, an industry leader in education services and global marketing.

Simon is an advocate of student rights and welfare, having been a foundational supporter of the first ever NSE International Student Hub. He has an Executive MBA from University of Technology – Sydney, and has a passion for exploring creative collaborations to create new opportunities within the industry.

Sandra Hook

Non-Executive Director

Sandra is a former Managing Director, CEO, and COO, Sandra Hook has held senior executive roles with some of Australia’s largest media companies including News Limited and Foxtel. She sits on a number of publicly listed, private and government boards and brings a strong focus on customer-centric growth and digital innovation at board level.

William Deane

Non-Executive Director

William Deane (Will) is a founder of venture capital firm Exto Partners and a director of a number of their investee companies. He has co-founded several high growth technology companies and was a co-founder of RedHill Education (acquired by iCollege in 2021).

Will previously practised as a corporate lawyer in Australia with Blake Dawson and in the United States with Skadden Arps and Sidley Austin with a focus of equity capital markets and mergers & acquisitions.

Cass O’Connor

Chair

Cass has 35 years’ of executive, non-executive and advisory experience, spanning various industries including media, technology, premium consumer goods, real estate and the arts. Her background is in finance, including as a senior equities research analyst with Deutsche Bank, and investment banking and private equity investing with Turnbull & Partners, Goldman Sachs LLC, and Carnegie, Wylie & Co (now Lazard). She has advised Federal and State governments alongside publicly listed and private businesses.

In addition to running her own corporate advisory firm, Cass currently chairs Carriageworks, the largest multi-arts precinct in Australia; Ultraceuticals, wholly Australian developed cosmeceutical company; and TRIBE, a global generator of instant branded content. She has previously Chaired ASX-listed Prime Media Group and managed its successful exit to SevenWest Media in late 2021.

Our Board

Our Board

Cass O’Connor

Simon Tolhurst

Sandra Hook

William Deane

Lisa Jones

Executive Team

Mark Kehoe

Michael Fahey

Eve Ollerenshaw

Roxana Ene

Shin Shimizu

Ben Poppy

Jacopo Corona

Simon Costain

Emma Thompson