30th June 2022 : Study Group is delighted to announce the appointment of Steve Pinches to the new role of Chief Product Officer, effective 27 June.
The role has been established to accelerate Study Group’s work with university partners on strategic innovation, developing new programmes and services for international students in addition to current pathway programmes.
Steve is a highly experienced leader with an extensive background helping organisations across the publishing, EdTech and media industries to maximise the opportunity of digital and blended approaches to growth, having held key roles at the Financial Times, Pearson, the Hyve Group and Tes Global.
Steve’s career began with education, and opening opportunities to students from around the world is a thread which runs throughout his working life. After working as an English language teacher in the Americas and Europe, he spent over 10 years launching a raft of award-winning digital products and services for the Financial Times and managing their transition to subscription-based digital revenue.
Steve then moved back to education, heading up digital development for Pearson ELT and developing blended solutions to learning for Pearson’s audiences globally. Next, he joined the privately-owned education group Tes Global, where he established the Tes Institute, a pioneering teacher qualification and training organisation.
After building the Tes Institute and successfully launching it globally, Steve was made Chief Operating Officer at Tes, overseeing a portfolio of teacher development and EdTech businesses as well as Tes’s product, design, data and operations teams. More recently Steve has worked with Hyve Group plc, one of the largest exhibitions organisations in the world, helping them build new digital and blended revenue streams around their entire portfolio of shows, including the Bett education show in London.
Steve is committed to leading and motivating cross-functional teams to build exciting new businesses and products that make a positive impact on society. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, tennis and playing the piano, as well as spending time with his two children.
Commenting on his appointment, Steve said: “It is thrilling to be joining international education leaders Study Group at such an exciting time in the company’s development, and I am very much looking forward to working with its excellent team to help develop the programmes and opportunities we know will be really valuable to our university partners and students. As we come out of the pandemic and look to the potential of new services and markets, as well as digital innovation, I have confidence that Study Group will be a sector leader in the highest quality international education, and I am really looking forward to delivering that.”
Emma Lancaster, Study Group CEO, commented: “Our global reorganisation last year laid the foundations for us to work more closely with our university partners on growth and innovation in high quality international education. Steve’s appointment is a key next step in accelerating our delivery of new solutions designed for a changed and continually changing world. We’re delighted he’s joining us at this pivotal moment.”
