Esther T. Benjamin has been a global executive in the public, private, and civil society sectors for more than 25 years. Before joining WES as CEO and executive director, Esther worked with Laureate Education, Inc., a leading global higher education organization. Esther served as the Associate Director for Global Operations of the U.S. Peace Corps, and held senior management roles with the International Youth Foundation and the International Partnership for Microbicides.

Dr Helen Kelly is an experienced professional having operated at senior leadership and Executive Board level within SOAS, University of London; University of Warwick; and Trinity College Dublin. Her skills and expertise span TNE and global partnerships, international student recruitment, strategic development, transformation and change, and external engagement. 

Professor Ian White has been Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bath since 2019. He joined the University from the University of Cambridge where he had been Master of Jesus College, van Eck Professor of Engineering, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of Photonics Research in the Electrical Division of the Department of Engineering.

Professor White gained his BA and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge and was then appointed a Research Fellow and Assistant Lecturer at the University before becoming Professor of Physics at the University of Bath.

Professor White’s previous posts include Professor of Optical Communications and Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol, and Head of the School of Technology at the University of Cambridge.

Professor White has carried out substantial research in the field of optoelectronics and optical communications. Highlights of this include the invention of new techniques for transmitting signals at low cost over optical fibre links for data and wireless communication systems. He is a co-founder of Zinwave Ltd, a company providing wireless coverage solutions, and PervasID Ltd which develops ultra-high-frequency RFID readers. He has published in excess of 1,000 papers and associated patents. Professor White is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He was a Member of the Board of Governors of the Global IEEE Photonics Society (2008-2011) and is Editor-in-Chief of Electronics Letters and Nature Microsystems and Nanoengineering.

Jugnu has over 25 years of experience landscaping international education access in India through cross-functional projects.

She has dedicated over 12 years of her illustrious career at Education New Zealand to transforming the organization’s operations, enhancing global partnerships, and driving innovation in international education. Her tenure at the organisation has seen her overlook marketing, PR, and Internationalisation projects for India and pioneered the first comprehensive education agent partner programme for India. Under her leadership, the team has grown exponentially and delivered many innovative, award-winning marketing campaigns.

She has previously served as the Assistant Manager at the British Council, where she was responsible for handling UK education in North India. Following that, she led the Business Development mandate at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and a brief stint at American Express.
She graduated from the University of Delhi and holds an MBA in Marketing/Marketing Management.

Dr. Madhusudhan Govindaraju began his tenure at Binghamton University, State University of New York, in 2003 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and Full Professor in 2017. In June 2020, he was named the Vice Provost of International Education and Global Affairs (IEGA).

Dr. Govindaraju has broad responsibilities for managing the university’s graduate admissions, executing campus-wide strategies for graduate recruitment and serving as the university’s Senior International Officer. Additionally, he has oversight of International Student and Scholar Services, education abroad, and student exchange programs. He is committed to ensuring the university’s continued growth and success as a premier choice for international education. He provides strategic leadership, works in collaboration with leaders across campus, engages in new initiatives and partnerships within the campus and educational institutions throughout the world. He serves as the co-chair for the university’s strategic priority for internationalization, whose goal is to support, promote and enhance strategic internationalization efforts through high-impact learning, teaching, research and engagement.

Prior to his current role he was the Associate Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Graduate Director for Admissions. His commitment to students and the university have been recognized by the State University of New York the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009 and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Services in 2017.

Dr. Govindaraju has served as the project advisor for more than 50 Master’s students and supervised the thesis of 12 PhD students.

Professor Mark E. Smith is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton. As President and Vice-Chancellor, he is the Chief Executive of the University and has overall responsibility for its operations. He took up this role on 1 October 2019.
Professor Smith was Vice-Chancellor at Lancaster University from January 2012 until September 2019. He was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick.
Throughout his academic career, he has published more than 380 papers about advanced magnetic resonance techniques, helping to understand a range of problems in the field of materials physics. He is currently a member of the executive group overseeing the National High Field Solid-State NMR Facility at the University of Warwick.

In addition to his role as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, he holds a number of external appointments including Senior Independent Member of UKRI EPSRC’s Council; and board member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, chairing their Research Wales Committee.
He also chairs UKRI’s Financial Sustainability of Research Group and was the former Chair of the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) 2016-2022. He has also served on the Boards of Jisc, HESA and HESCU.

He was awarded a CBE for Services to Research and Higher Education in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.