We are sad to announce the departure of our CEO Girish Menon, who has decided to step down after nearly 3.5 years in order to make way for new leadership to steer our future direction of travel. Girish will leave the organisation in June 2024.
At the same time, we are delighted to announce that two of our existing team will be stepping up to take on the roles of Interim Co-CEO. Jenny Willmott (currently Senior Director of Programme Delivery) and John McIntosh (currently Director of Learning and Impact) are both seasoned leaders with deep experience and passion for education, and we look forward to further achievements under their leadership.
Girish says: “I have had a very enriching and amazing few years in this role, emerging from the Covid lockdown and addressing some key challenges our government partners faced in supporting teachers and improving learning outcomes for children. I have been deeply impressed with the ambition of the organisation and the commitment of its talented, creative and dedicated staff to work through various adversities and bring about change. It has been a tremendous learning experience for me. It has also been immensely satisfying to see two new country programmes being launched in Indonesia and Ethiopia respectively. That said, as we start thinking about our new strategy, I think this is the right time for me to step down, and I will be excited to see the organisation continue to progress under Jenny and John.”
Our Chair Jo Owen says: “Girish has not only taken us through the challenges of lockdown, he has also professionalised and stabilised the organisation. Throughout, he has been a role model of integrity, commitment and professionalism. We will miss him and we wish him well on the next phase of his career. I am delighted to be able to replace Girish with two outstanding individuals from within STiR’s executive team. Jenny and John have a deep understanding of STiR’s mission, values and operations. We look forward to deepening our impact and building our sustainability under their leadership, to improve learning outcomes for the next generation.”
Jenny and John add: “It is a huge privilege to be appointed as co-CEOs of STiR, at such a critical time for teachers and education systems across the world. We are excited to be leading STiR through the next stage of its journey, working with our incredible team and building on Girish’s great work, to achieve our vision of a world where teachers love teaching and children love learning.”