“We thought long and hard about where we would be best located,” Andrew Fitzmaurice, Chief Executive Officer, Nord Anglia Education, said. “We thought about London, Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. But taking everything into account – wanting to grow in Mainland China and southeast Asia; good access to banking and legal institutions - we considered Hong Kong the best location.”
“Hong Kong is a vibrant city and located at the heart of Asia. It is always full of energy and people have a can-do spirit,” Andrew Fitzmaurice said. “We are growing our organisation and we expect to add two schools a year, mainly in Asia. We have our banking arrangements and legal support all based in Hong Kong, which is very convenient from a corporate point of view. It is easier to expand in Asia from a Hong Kong base compared with a Shanghai base.” Nord Anglia Education’s office in Hong Kong has about 30 staff members responsible for the full range of corporate functions, including finance, human resources, legal, IT, operations, communications and marketing.
Five senior members of the Nord Anglia Education team were relocated from Europe and the remaining staff were recruited locally. “The talent to be found in the Hong Kong market is impressive. People also like to work in the education sector and we’ve created a strong team in a very short period of time,” Fitzmaurice enthused.
