Patrick Shaw Email & Phone Number

Toronto, On, Ca

Canada

- Contracted as the Managing Director for Blyth Academy – Qatar, to evaluate and improve all operations of the school (400 students, K – 12), facilitating expectations between various stakeholders; preparing the school for a potential sale- Led the industry in COVID-19 response as Chair of Polar Latitudes, a U.S. based wholesale tour operator; successfully transitioned the business structure and re-negotiated key contracts - Appointed as the Treasurer of Nova Logistics, a specialist ship operator; focused on maintaining the organization’s brand and cash flow during unprecedented worldwide travel restrictions- Provided leadership for an adjusted business strategy as a Director of Templeton Academy, a U.S. based private high school group; rolling out 2 new locations, and continuing to realize high growth rates of 20% annually

Toronto, Canada Area

Blyth Academy joined the NACE Schools Group in December of 2018. NACE, owned by Providence Equity Partners, is an international education provider with more than 50 schools located throughout Spain, France, Italy, the UK, Andorra, India, Portugal, Canada and the Middle East. As CEO in Canada I managed 14 domestic bricks and mortar Blyth Academy schools, Blyth Academy Online, Blyth Academy Qatar as well as managing acquisition growth in Canada and the U.S.- Led the executive teams managing three lines of business: Blyth Academy, Blyth Educational Travel and Blyth Academy Online, after the sale of the business in 2018, and subsequent departure of the former owner/CEO- Reported jointly to NACE Schools (now Globeducate) and Providence Private Equity (PEP) leading their North American education sector roll-up strategy, with focus steeped heavily in financials and metrics- Developed and successfully executed a plan to triple EBITDA over a two-year period

Toronto, Canada Area

- Led the executive team to sustain annual revenue growth averaging over 28%, developing a reputation as one of the most credible education institutions in the country- Provided leadership to a team of direct reports including Vice-Presidents and all Heads of School- Developed the school’s unique educational philosophy which drove academic integrity, including an innovative 4 term (quadmester) approach, the same model introduced in public high schools in 2020- Introduced an innovative private high school business model which reduced costs to half of the traditional cost of private education- Executed a strategic blueprint to successfully open ten new schools in four years; instrumental in finding the appropriate real estate portfolio, worked with a design team to develop a design template used as a model for replication at each location - Designed a custom KPI matrix to monitor risk and manage performance across the group on either a weekly, monthly, or annual basis; reported KPIs to the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis- Built partnerships with elite institutions (i.e. ROM, AGO, TIFF, the OHL) throughout Ontario enabling additional revenues, enriched student programming, and integrated branding- Executed international expansion into the US, Europe, and the Middle East - Created Blyth Academy Online, with ~5,000 worldwide students; recognized as the fastest growing online school, and 2nd largest online school in Canada, and offering the greatest number of online courses- Grew Blyth Academy Online at a rate of 40% annually, making it an asset valued at 20x its earnings- Inherited and successfully defended a class action suit out of court, and built a new solid foundation for fair and equitable human resources and employment best practices- Executed an exit strategy for the company founder through acquisition of Blyth Academy by Providence Private Equity (PEP), a deal valued at $70M, which was 14 times the business’ value from the start of my tenure

Toronto, London And Connecticut

Grew Quark Expeditions to be recognized as the leader in Polar travel. Then and now, Quark operates more ships to more destinations in the polar regions than any other adventure company.- Headed the strategic direction and executive management of Quark Expeditions and its related group of companies- Improved EBITDA performance while growing annual sales from 17M to 87M - Led brand-building strategy that resulted in worldwide recognition of the company’s pre-eminence in Polar travel - Introduced yield management systems and rationalized fleet of ships; commissioned nuclear-powered and diesel icebreakers from various parts of the globe- Integrated the company into TUI Travel plc, successfully absorbing the operations of three affiliated sister companies- Developed and executed exit strategy for majority shareholder resulting in 1000% return to initial investment group- Leveraged relationship management skills, interacting with, and delivering on expectations of high needs clients (e.g.: Film Producers); oversaw critical logistics for moving people/supplies in an out of extremely remote locations- Collaborated with scientific expeditions including the discovery of the world’s most northerly Emperor penguin rookery, and the most southerly marine voyage in history

Managed the ship, hotel, passenger and expedition operations departments of this fast-growing innovator in the small ship expedition travel business.- Progressed through roles of increasing responsibility and revolutionized Antarctic tourism through the development of an efficient, low cost operating regime, contributing to the doubling of the entire Antarctic tourism market- Captured 20% of Antarctic market share in first operating year- Managed seven passenger ship fleet (each with up to 140 passengers) operating globally- Increased passenger satisfaction ratings and improved operating efficiencies, consistently and exponentially- Introduced 14 expedition cruise ships, through chartering agreements or ship conversion, into successful remote destination service, - Coordinated the largest marine operation in Antarctic history during the 2000 millennium- Organized ground-breaking initiatives including: the first Antarctic Marathon, and the first volunteer clean-up operation to pick up and lift 50 years of garbage from the Antarctic for disposal in Europe- Pioneered the development of countless adventure tours for windsurfing, water skiing, diving, climbing- Spearheaded the charge in developing a professional Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, to advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic

Toronto, Canada

My Canada Includes Quebec was a grassroots effort in advance of the 1995 Referendum to promote Quebec’s inclusion within Canada- Led a team of 20 dedicated consistent volunteers, and hundreds of local volunteers across Canada, as the only paid employee for the campaign aimed at raising nationwide awareness and fundraising- Built and maintained relationships with high profile influencers such as the Trudeau family, mayors, provincial leaders; oversaw public relations through various media outlets

Villefranche Sur Mer, France

Led from the ground up, the establishment of Canada’s first foreign based and first semi-private university - Managed the construction and development of a 50-acre site, renovating 7 buildings for academic and administrative facilities within an aggressive 3-month period, and oversaw the design and construction of 22 villa residence facilities within a 1-year timeframe- Worked with challenging local and national authorities to secure political support- Developed, created, managed three French companies to provide the legal and operational structure of the university’s European operations- Led marketing efforts to attract enrollment of the first 200 students

Masters, International Relations

Mba, Business

Ba, International Relations & Economics