Raymi Van Der Spek Email & Phone Number

CCG have been working with Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) on developing their Transnational Education (TNE) strategies for over 25 years My personal specialty is in the development and successful operation of International Branch Campuses.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

FleXademy delivers high-quality education solutions to the 500M+ learners in the emerging economies. We work with education providers and corporates to develop new and innovative learning solutions and partner with those passionate about expanding access to world class education. Our goal is to expand horizons and maximize everyone's Return On Education Investment.

Dubai

I have groupwide responsibility for Business Strategy, Business Development, Marketing & Recruitment, Finance, IT, HR, Procurement and Property Services with over 350 staff in multiple internationally based operating units. I have expanded the group’s portfolio to include tertiary and K12 education in the UAE, Sri Lanka, India and Malta as well as healthcare in the UAE. I have delivered EBITDA growth in excess of 20%. I have managed the group’s highly successful partnership with Heriot-Watt University - the largest international university operating in the UAE. I have implemented consistent group wide processes and systems and managed statutory, legal and compliance for a complex corporate structure across multiple jurisdictions. I have also built strong links and relationships with a number of other leading UK based universities.

Al Ain

UAEU is the oldest and most comprehensive University in the UAE with over 14,000 students and 2,500 employees. As CAFO I managed the annual budget that was in excess of AED1.4billion and drove continuous improvement in the quality and service standards of all support units covering Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Facilities, General Services and Operations Analysis. I grew research budgets by 25% and restructured procurement policy and processes to produce a 15% gain in purchasing efficiency.

UOWD is the oldest, for profit tertiary institution operating in the UAE. I delivered on all the institutions strategic objectives and secured long-term sustainable and profitable growth, bringing a strong focus on marketing and sales. I strategically lead and developed the professional services teams with both compassion and steel. This covered Marketing, Student Recruitment, Finance, IT, Human Resources, Registrar, and Property Services. I had complete P&L accountability and oversaw continuous growth in both the top and bottom line of the business for over 5 years. All headline numbers increased by 40% or more, with increased operational efficiencies and expanded international markets.

Dubai

The ABCD is a registered not-for-profit business group with an extensive membership base. I expanded the ABCD’s vision by building and strengthening relationships with a wide range of other business groups (BBC, AMCHAM etc), key sponsorship companies (Emirates, Australian Meat & Livestock, Acuma, Etihad etc.) and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. I grew the membership base by 25%, sponsorship income by 200% and the operating surplus by 250%. I restructured the operational leadership to allow the ABCD to better deliver on its core mission and vision. I executed an entirely new and innovative events program that successfully lifted ADCB’s profile to be amongst the highest in the UAE.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The Clark Alliance was a consulting service providing specialist assistance to smaller advertising agencies to make them attractive acquisition targets for larger agency groups. Having significant experience on the acquisition side for a large agency group allowed me to apply my specialist knowledge in this area. As an experienced CFO The Clark Alliance also provided me with the opportunity to undertake other freelance financial projects for a variety of different businesses.

London, United Kingdom

Tribal DDB Europe was a new start-up digital agency group in the process of formation. In addition to being responsible for creating the financial, structural and taxation framework for the group’s formation I also successfully lead the negotiation, due diligence, document preparation and execution for the acquisition, merger and/or disposal of over 20 subsidiary companies. In addition I was a key member of the leadership team responsible for the performance and key decision making processes for Tribal DDB’s operations in the UK, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltics, Denmark, Netherlands, Southern Germany and Austria. Combined revenue was in excess of EUR143million with 1300 employees.