Firoz Thairinil is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Westford Education Group, the leading higher education provider and education management company based in the UK and the UAE. As a 21st-century visionary educational leader, Firoz ensures that a strong commitment to high standards and a performance culture are embedded across the entire group.
Firoz comes from a BFSI background with strong management credentials, and an MBA from the University of Wales, UK. He started his career in the banking sector in 1995 as a clerical grade officer and rose to the rank of Country Head in 15 years. During his stint in the Banking Industry, he got the chance to collaborate with reputed institutions like Standard Chartered Bank, Emirates International Bank (ENBD), and National Bank of Umm Al Quwain (NBQ). He started his entrepreneurial journey in the year 2008, with a strong vision to create an impact in the education sector. Despite being faced with tough challenges initially, the quality of education was never compromised. He ensured a continuous investment in technology coupled with an excellent student support ecosystem. Slowly, the group succeeded in winning the confidence of its learners and the community, as a result of its steadfast commitment to students' welfare and their success stories.
With Firoz’s consistent determination and hard work, Westford branched out as a network of business schools having students from more than 130 countries across the globe, since its humble beginning in the year 2008. The group’s exponential growth has been accomplished through Firoz’s visionary business acumen.
Under his leadership, Westford Education Group leveraged technology to disrupt the existing models of education, making them more accessible and affordable. The latest technology, combined with partnerships with prestigious
Samras Mayimi
CEO – Exeed College, Co-Founder and Executive Director – Westford Education Group
Samras is a passionate edupreneur with more than 22 years of experience in the BFSI and education industry combined. A highly consummate professional turned entrepreneur, he holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Anglia Ruskin University, UK, and Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Wales, UK, Leadership and Management Development program from UCLA extension, USA. Samras, with his astute leadership skills, has brought many transformational changes and has played an instrumental role in expanding the Westford group to new heights. Over the years, the group has built its reputation on delivering quality and supporting students in their learning journey.
Samras leads the strategic initiatives and projects of the group-wide organization of Westford Education Group. In addition to the group role, Samras spearheads and leads the entire business with P&L responsibility for Exeed College, Exeed ECX and Taito Education, independent SBUs of the group. He is also vested with the responsibility to steer the project initiatives and strategic investments of the group for its business expansions and cross border transactions. Samras focuses on sustaining and growing the existing partnerships as well as developing new associations and affiliations with external partners and plays an instrumental role in the corporate affairs and public relations of the group-wide organization.
The group’s exemplary growth has been accomplished through his business skills and his strong commitment to the highest standards of excellence and ethics. He upholds the values of strength, performance and passion and believes these qualities have contributed significantly to his progressive growth, success, and leadership.
Having been at the helm of Exeed College, Acacia University, Taito Education, and Exeed ECX, the prestigious entities under Westford Education Group,
Anil Ahluwalia
Executive Director – Academic, Westford Education Group
An outstanding leader with more than 30 years of experience, Anil is presently spearheading all academic programs for Westford Education Group, as the Academic Director. Anil heads the academic functions of the group responsible for the academic planning, evaluation and assessment administration, curriculum development, academic resources development, accreditation and managing quality and standards.
Anil has taught at leading universities and business schools and is also a master trainer. In addition to academia, Anil had successful stints in the corporate world being an outstanding leader in the domain of Corporate, HR and Business Management Services. A veteran ex-army officer, Anil was also extensively involved in training while serving in the Indian Army and was deputed by the Indian Government to train the Botswana Defense Force.
As an experienced HR, Training & Development Professional, his expertise includes, conducting MBA courses for working professionals through the aegis of elite global universities, and conducting corporate training and learning festivals for large corporations. He has diverse experience in all HR matters on recruitment planning, induction, training and development, motivational and behaviour aspects of a large workforce, manpower planning, labour laws interpretation, etc.
Dr. Vivek has extensive experience managing multicultural, high-achieving teams in higher education domains related to the Middle East, the UK, and the US in terms of strategy, operations, and delivery. He is the recipient of the prestigious Medici Enterprise Award for commercialisation of research (UK) and various GCC leadership and organization awards. He holds a PhD in Business Management (UK) and an MSc in International Business (UK), a Doctorate in Management (Spain), an M.Phil in Applied Leadership (Spain) and is certified in Block Chain from UCLA (US), education design from UCL (UK), Project Management from CMI (UK) and blended learning from UNSW (Australia).
He started his career as an operations consultant and has worked in product development and education design. Dr. Vivek has published and presented papers in international journals and conferences across the globe on topics such as Sustainability, Expatriate Performance and Synchronous online learning. With more than fifteen years of experience in both academia and consulting, he has worked closely with several highly regarded American and British universities on international alliances and digital implementation of higher education programs. Dr. Vivek has consulted for the UK Government (Arts Council, England) and held faculty and researcher positions at Sheffield Hallam University, UK and Leeds Business School, UK. Dr.Vivek has consulted and trained for public institutions and MNCs, including the ICC Cricket Council headquarters, PWC Middle East, Petrofac, Sharjah Co-op and WJ Groundwater.
A results-motivated proven leader, Dr Bhawana Chawla brings over ten years of management experience across several industries. As Vice-President of Admissions & Business at Exeed College, Dr Bhawana is responsible for leading and managing all the departments for smooth business operation and long-term success. She also handles commercials, business development, sales, marketing & communication for Exeed College.
Dr Bhawana is a seasoned professional, well-versed in strategic planning, enrollment management, student retention, critical thinking, project management, and qualitative & quantitative initiatives while building and retaining high-performance teams. Her core competencies include leadership, change management, admissions/sales and marketing, operations, innovation, personnel management, compliance and budget administration.
Before her stint with Exeed College, she handled various roles as a counsellor, marketing specialist, and centre manager in varied organisations in the UAE. Back in India, she worked as a sales manager with Hyatt Regency in the hospitality industry.
Dr Bhawana holds a PhD in Management and an MBA from Punjab College of Technical Education, Ludhiana, India.
