who's who at English UK

Born in Doncaster in 1951 and educated at the Grammar School there, Tony Millns taught English as a foreign language in Finland before going up to Oxford in 1969 and in the long vacations in 1970 and 1971. He was a Postmaster in English at Merton College Oxford, then lectured in Anglo-Saxon literature at the University of Cambridge and taught Middle English at Cambridge's second university before becoming Information and Marketing Officer there and moving into communications, marketing, PR and lobbying. He was director of communications/marketing/PR for Cambridgeshire County Council (1981-4), the University of London (1984-91) and the Association of County Councils (1991-3).

He moved in 1993 to be a senior civil servant, as Assistant Chief Executive of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA), where over the next four years he was the only person other than Ron Dearing himself to work on all three of the Dearing reviews - the review of the National Curriculum and national tests (1993-5), the review of post-16 qualifications including A levels and GNVQs (1995-6), and the review of higher education (1996-7) which led to the proposal to introduce student fees. In 1997, on the merger of SCAA with the National Council for Vocational Qualifications, he became Assistant Chief Executive of the new body, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

In late 1999, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Association of Recognised English Language Services (ARELS) Ltd. In 2004, when ARELS and BASELT joined forces to create English UK, the world's leading language teaching association, he became English UK's first Chief Executive.

He holds a prize-winning MBA from Henley Management College and an MBA in Technology Management from Grenoble Graduate School of Business, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Association Management, Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Royal Society of Arts, the Institute of Directors, the Chartered Management Institute and the Tourism Society. In 2001 he was among the first hundred people to be admitted as a Chartered Director, the new professional standard for company directors, and in 2002 he became a Chartered Marketer. Among other unpaid posts, he was a director of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd for ten years and National Chairman from 1982-5. He was Chairman of the Tourism Alliance in 2006, and he serves on several other national bodies. He has published books and articles on literary criticism, education policy and brewing history.

As Chief Executive of English UK, he is responsible to the Board for the association’s strategy, policy and general management, and he runs the association on a day-to-day basis between Board meetings. The Board of 12 trustees is elected by and from the membership in a ballot before each AGM.

Annie Wright has worked in marketing and promotions in the English language sector for over ten years. Prior to being appointed to the position of Deputy Chief Executive (Business Services) of English UK in April 2007 she worked as Fairs & Events Manager of English UK and managed the association’s annual flagship event, StudyWorld.

As Deputy Chief Executive of English UK, Annie is responsible for the area of business enterprises, a field which includes marketing and promotions, event management, and business development. Annie continues to work closely with the StudyWorld team on the strategic development of the event and works closely with the marketing team on all marketing and promotional activities. She also works alongside Mark Rendell, Deputy Chief Executive (Professional Services) who leads the association's work on quality assurance and professional development.

Annie has a First Class degree in Fine Art from Northumbria University and an MA in Arts Policy and Management from Birkbeck, University of London.

Mark joined English UK in November 2005 after an extensive career in ELT overseas. As Deputy Chief Executive, Mark actively represents the interests of English UK members and the sector both in the UK and abroad working closely with a range of stakeholders. Mark leads the association's work on quality assurance and the extensive professional development programme.

A graduate in English Literature and History, Mark embarked on an English teaching career in Warsaw, Poland in 1993. He took his teaching diploma in 1998 and became a Director of Studies in a new venture in Lodz, Poland working for a well-known chain which he was to stay with until returning to the UK in 2005. He combined his role in Lodz with the role of oral examiner for the Cambridge ESOL First Certificate Examinations and helped the school to become one of the 1very best in the area.

In 2001 Mark left for Al-Khobar and then Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to provide academic expertise as the chain set up its new operation in the Kingdom. Mark was then offered the role of Academic Operations Manager and moved to the global headquarters in Shanghai, China in 2002. The number of franchised centres in China more than trebled from 24 to 76 during his four years he spent in the country.  

Mark was active in the selection, training and support of academic managers, product development and implementation of academic management systems. He was invited to join the Shanghai EXPO 2010 planning committee and worked on a range of blue-chip projects leading to contracts with a number of leading universities and government bodies.  He was also an assessor on the practical component of the Trinity licentiate Diploma qualification.

Mark was promoted to the position of Director of Academics for the group in 2004 and was responsible for the academic management of 180 language centres in over ten countries. Mark is currently enrolled on an MSc in ELT Management course at the University of Surrey.

Roz first joined English UK (then ARELS) in July 2003 as Customer Service Officer. Now working as Membership Manager, she is responsible for member recruitment, retention and renewals including all related administration and communications, and manages the members' sign-in area of the English UK website.  Roz also organises the Annual Conference. 

Roz graduated from The College of St. Mark and St. John with a BA (Hons) in Geography with Development Studies. Her career in ELT began in 1995 as an Assistant English Teacher for International Relations in Japan and then, after gaining her Cert. TESOL, she taught in private language schools in Russia and Bournemouth.

Kathryn joined English UK in May 2010. As Customer Services Officer she is the first point of contact for phone and email enquiries coming in to English UK, and she also deals with CRB checks and student complaints.

Kathryn graduated in 2006 with a degree in Theology from the University of Nottingham. Prior to working at English UK, Kathryn spent two and a half years in Bosnia and Herzegovina teaching English.

Naadiya first joined English UK in April 2004. After having worked as the Professional Services and Public Affairs Officer, she has been promoted to Public Affairs, Policy and Research Manager where she assists Tony Millns in the implementation of the public affairs strategy and drawing up of policy documents.

Naadiya has a first degree in Human Geography and Human Resource Management from Keele University and holds an MA in Tourism, Environment and Development from King's College, London.

Beth joined the team in September 2007. As Professional Services Officer she is responsible for administrating and organising a range of English UK training events including conferences, training days and modular courses.

Beth graduated in 2004 with a BA Hons in Sociology from the University of Exeter. Her career in ELT began in 2005 as the Welfare and Accommodation Officer in a school in Bournemouth before moving to London to join the team at English UK.

Jodie Gray joined English UK in February 2007. She is responsible for all marketing and promotional activities.

Jodie graduated with a degree in Chinese and Hindi from Cambridge University. She went on to work in the ELT sector, first as a teacher at Beihang University, Beijing and then in the administration team of a large language school in Cambridge. She has also worked as a site manager for a music and corporate events company. Jodie is currently completing her Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma.

Alex joined English UK in August 2008. She works alongside Jodie Gray (International Marketing Manager) on marketing and promotional activities.

Prior to joining English UK, Alex worked in the Alumni and Development Office at Queens' College, Cambridge. Alex has a degree in History from the University of Bristol, and an Mst. in Historical Research from the University of Oxford, where she graduated in 2008. 

Sharon joined English UK in January 2009 to assist with marketing and promotional activities. She is responsible for the English UK website and the monthly Newsflash, and works with Jodie and Alex on inward missions, the English in the UK Guide and other events.

Before moving to the UK, Sharon was working in Tokyo where she managed the Japanese government's English education and internationalisation programme, the JET Programme. In her hometown of Sydney, she has previously worked for IDP Education in their Global Strategy and Marketing Group and in higher education administration.

Sharon has a first degree in Business Studies (Marketing) and Japanese from the University of Technology in Sydney and holds an MA in International Relations from Macquarie University in Sydney.

Florian Zmölnig joined English UK in February 2010 for a 6 months placement as the International Marketing Assistant. He will be assisting the English UK marketing team and handling all matters related to internet marketing and advertising, social media marketing and administration for English UK.

He is currently a student of the IMC FH Krems, Austria, doing his B.A. in Export-Oriented Management. The courses offered by the IMC steers its students towards international thinking and professional success in various departments such as international business, international law and human resources. Furthermore, Florian’s mother-tongue is French and he is currently studying Spanish and Russian. He is also a very big fan of rugby.

In the future, Florian would like to do a Master in International Business. Afterwards, he would like to work for either a SME or MNE in either the marketing, human resources or relations department.

Siobhán joined English UK in March 2007 as Fairs and Events Officer. Appointed to the position of International Events Manager in January 2008 she is responsible for the production and development of English UK’s annual event, StudyWorld. Siobhán looks after agents and exhibitors, as well as managing administration and marketing communications.  

Siobhán graduated in 2005 with a BA Hons in Tourism & Hospitality Management. She then went on to work in the heritage sector for an audio and multimedia guide production company, working for the sales and marketing and creative project management teams. She became interested in events having been an exhibitor herself, and also through her experience of working with organisers of trade fairs and exhibitions.

Emma joined English UK in March 2010 and supports the International Events Manager with the organisation of StudyWorld London. She oversees educator registrations, the coordination of StudyWorld Fam trips and assists with administration and marketing communications.

Emma graduated from Brunel University in 2007 with a BSc Hons Degree in Media and Communications. She has been travelling in Hong Kong, Australia and Japan and became interested in events having undertaken a work placement during university as an Assistant Producer for an awards ceremony.

Before joining English UK, Emma worked as an Account Coordinator in a marketing agency and a Commercial Administrator at a global media company.

Verena joined English UK in March 2010 to undertake a six-month internship as International Events Assistant. Verena assists the team with the administration and marketing of StudyWorld. She handles various tasks in her position, including dealing with agent enquiries, processing agent bookings and liaising with suppliers.

Verena is currently studying BA Export-oriented Management in Krems, Austria, where great importance is laid on global thinking, multiculturalism and professional international appearances. She is learning three languages, French, Czech and Russian, and her course covers practical and general information with regards to law, human resources and global politics.

Before joining English UK, Verena spent an exchange semester in Bordeaux, France, which demonstrated flexibility with regards relocation and a keen interest in getting to know other customs and cultures. After finishing her studies Verena would like to work for an international enterprise in a position that focuses on Customer Relationship Management.

Susan started working for English UK in 2008. She is responsible for finding and writing interesting stories about English UK member schools and their students to use on the website and occasionally in targeted press releases overseas. She also does other press and communications work for the organisation, including writing a weekly UK news update for students, contributing to newsletters and covering some conferences.

Susan is keen to hear from member schools and their students about anything potentially interesting they are doing. Contact her on susan@englishuk.com.

Since graduating in History and English from York, Susan has had a long career in journalism and the media, specialising in education for much of that time.

She has worked for national newspapers including The Observer, The Guardian and the Daily Express, as well as organisations including non-departmental government bodies and the National Association of Head Teachers. She spent more than a decade on the Times Educational Supplement, where she was an assistant editor.

Sarah joined English UK in 2005 and initially worked on marketing research projects. She took over the Marketing Manager role of Business English UK (a special interest group of English UK) in January 2006 and is responsible for the overall operation of this group. Her role has been further expanded by taking over the responsibility of another special interest group - Work Experience UK in September 2008.

Sarah studied and worked in China before coming to the UK to pursue her postgraduate studies. She gained her Master's degree in Education from Manchester University in 1999. Before joining English UK, she worked in a managerial position for a large international telecom company in London for four years. 

Glenn Peppiatt qualified as a chartered accountant in 1978 and joined English UK in July 2007 after many years in the Finance Department of a London local authority, accounting assignments with Lloyds of London and overseas in the Middle East & West Africa. He is also an Honours graduate from Manchester University.

He is responsible for maintenance of the financial records and accounts, liaising with the external auditors of English UK and its trading subsidiary and the production of the annual and periodic management accounts of these companies.

Nuria joined English UK in May 2005. She finished a degree in Geography in 1997 at University of Girona, Catalonia and chose the administrative field after doing the Enterprise Computerised Management course at Master Studies Centre, Figueres (Catalonia).  Her previous jobs were related to education and also administrative tasks. Nuria came to the UK in September 2004 with the main aim of learning English and developing her professional career.

After having worked as the English UK Customer Services Officer, Nuria was promoted to Finance, Statistics and HR Officer in October 2007, supporting the Finance Director.  Nuria continues to work on the Quarterly Statistics Scheme and takes care of all HR related matters at English UK.

Hannah graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a BSc (Hons) in Computer Graphics and Visualisation with experience of language interpreting and IT helpdesk. Before joining English UK, Hannah was working as an Information Systems Assurance Consultant in one of the big financial firms in the city. Currently, she works as the IT and Finance Officer at English UK.