Our Team

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of BSBI Sagi Hartov is a successful international cellist who has taken part in several festivals and competitions, as well as recording advertisement soundtracks for BBC and Universal Records. He has been a member of the London Mozart Trio and he is the founder of the Ernest Bloch classical competition. He also serves as Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at the London College of Contemporary Arts, as well as Chairman of HTK Academy (Hamburg) and Principal of GUS Creative Arts.

Professor Kyriakos Kouveliotis is the Provost and Chief Academic Officer at BSBI. He is also the Honorary Rector of James Lind Institute in Geneva Switzerland and a Professor at UNINETTUNO University in Rome where he is the Director of several master programmes. He has served as a Provost in a number of European institutions and has also taught as a professor in many universities, academies and organisations. He is considered a global expert in academic and curriculum development, is the author of 12 books and has also published numerous scientific papers.

After studying languages in Romania, Alina moved to the UK where she spent over 17 years working mostly in the education sector. Alina worked at Global University Systems for over a decade where she gained extensive experience in strategic operations, mergers into the group, student support and daily operations. She is very passionate about the educational field as well as providing an excellent student experience.

Alexander, Associate Dean of BSBI, studied management economics at the Friedrich Alexander University in Nuernberg and spent some time in the USA, Spain and France during his studies. He was previously Managing Director of Radio Charivari Nuernberg, as well as founder of the management consultation “Zeitelhack.com”.

Dr. Fountis has over 20 years of experience in B2B general management, marketing, supply chain and sales of industrial minerals and chemicals. His work has enabled him to work in the European, Chinese and American markets. Throughout his career, Dr. Fountis has held the roles of Managing Director of an industrial joint venture in China, Member of Supervisory Board-State Representative of the European Chamber of Commerce in China as well as Member of the Board Advisors in Verstaan (MA, USA).

Dr Piilik teaches on the master’s programmes at BSBI having worked as a lawyer and business consultant for several years. She has an extensive education record with an LLB from the University of Tartu as well as an MA, a PhD and an MBA under her belt. Dr. Piilik is also an expert at the Asian Research Centre in Estonia and a Consortium Fellow of the University Consortium.

Dr. Simone holds a BA in Tourism from the University of Brighton, UK and received her Master’s degree in Tourism from the University of Otago in New Zealand. She obtained her PhD in Sport Business Management in 2013 from the University of Technology in Sydney. Through her involvement in university/government partnership projects, Simone gained extensive knowledge about qualitative research methods.

Prof. Dr. Milos Petkovic obtained his doctoral degree in 2019 in management sciences from the University Sophia Antipolis in Nice, France, where he also worked as a teaching assistant on the subject of intangible assets. Prof. Dr Petkovic works as a lecturer at Berlin School of Business and Innovation in Berlin, Germany where he lectures on the following modules: Management, Strategic Management, Strategic Analysis, Financial Analysis, Financial Management, Knowledge Management, Corporate Finance and Business Analysis.

Prof. Dr Vivek Arunachalam has been a faculty member of several business and diplomatic schools in Switzerland and India. He is also the Hon. Economic Advisor with the World Trade Centre, Navi Mumbai, India and is associated with several other chambers of commerce in India. Prior to joining BSBI, he worked in India as an assistant professor with a leading university’s business school for around eight years. His area of specialisations at BSBI are global business, international marketing, strategy and innovation. He is also a supervisor for doctoral students of management.

Dr. Desislava Dimitrova is a lecturer on Foundations of Marketing and Communications; Decision Making, Planning and Leadership in Health Sector at Berlin School of Business and Innovation. Her background is in political science and she is a very well-received policy educator. Desislava has over ten years of experience as an academic in higher education and within this period, she has chosen to lead introductory bachelor and master courses on political imaging, ethnic and religious minority policies, visions of the past and present in contemporary politics, and ethnically mixed economic policies.

Dr. Kanika Gupta has more than 14 years of experience in academia and corporate industry. She has taught accounting and finance courses and has been an academic administrator with experience in every stage of a students’ life cycle. Dr. Gupta has led the world’s best regulated business programmes, implementing best practices in academic governance as well as drafting and executing policies and regulations in compliance with QAA. Dr Gupta is very pleased to be joining BSBI as a lecturer.

Dr. Mukherjee has 13 years of experience in research, teaching and economic evaluation in academia and industry. She has worked in international research projects funded by DFID, UK, United Nations and different social organizations. Her research works contributes to the social policy design and execution in the domain of Healthcare and Education. In BSBI she is teaching Health Economics, Economics and various research methods to master’s and bachelor’s students.

PhDc. Anastasia Kiritsi is a multidisciplinary influential professional with a wealth of academic and professional experience across the shipping, oil and gas industries. Anastasia holds several masters and research in sustainability models as well international relations and EU sociology. She also holds the IATA and is keen to share her expertise in marketing and hospitality which she acquired over 10 years in countries such as Greece, France, Qatar and Turkey. Over the last few years, Anastasia has focused on her role as an academic lecturer and researcher. She is in charge of teaching various modules on the MA, MBA Tourism & Hospitality Management, and Global MBA.

Chad Manian is an international academic, keynote speaker, mentor and specialist in strategy and entrepreneurship. He holds the chair at several international committees and think tanks on technology, global policy and educational reform. Chad has founded and led several leading initiatives bringing together cutting-edge thinkers, Nobel laureates and industry leaders. He is a fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, British Academy of Management and currently teaches on the Global Master's programmes delivered at BSBI.

With a degree from the University of Gottingen and several years of teaching experience in the field of marketing and communications, Kathrin is currently a trainer and lecturer at BSBI Berlin. Fluent in Spanish, she previously worked as a lecturer in management of campaigns and project management at Ascenso Akademie, in Palma de Mallorca.

Katherine Boxall MA Distinction, FHEA, BA Hons Katherine is an international lecturer working at BSBI with a background in the creative industries who also works in the advertising and marketing industry. Throughout her career, Katherine has account managed Harvey Nichols, Oxo Tower, Schuh, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and many other major blue chip and FMCG brands. Prior to working into the higher education sector, she worked in global marketing communications at IBM. Katherine has over 20 years of experience as an academic in higher education. She also set up the Business School for the Creative Industries in the UK before moving into international academic consultancy.

Andre earned a BA in International Relations & History in the United States as well as an MA in European Studies in Finland. With a passion for different cultures, he has studied over ten languages, and has worked in language education since 2012. He has taught Business English in Helsinki and in many different German cities and companies. In 2019, he became a certified Intercultural Communication Trainer, which helped him immensely when he joined BSBI in September of that year; Andre joined in the capacity of a programme coordinator. In March 2020, Andre took up the position of English lecturer at BSBI.

Bethany has been teaching for the past 15 years in various capacities. Originally from Tucson, AZ, Bethany moved to Germany in 2017 from Boston, MA. She holds a Bachelor's in International Relations with a minor in International Economics from William Jewell College as well as a Master's in Curriculum Design and Instructional Leadership from the College of Santa Fe with a concentration on English Language Development. Bethany also completed her teaching certification at the University of New Mexico. She joined BSBI in March 2020.

Tina is originally from Magdeburg, Germany and completed her BA and MA in North American Studies at Humboldt Universität and Freie Universität in Berlin. Alongside her studies, Tina put her acquired expertise into practice as a volunteer and graduate assistant at a US-American non-profit organisation, at a renowned Berlin language academy and at language tandem and mentoring programmes. After completing her studies, Tina joined AIC Berlin as a programme coordinator which further enhanced her passion for cultural exchange in the international education branch. Tina is now pleased to have joined BSBI as the executive assistant to the CEO and Provost.

Fintan’s main role is to assist BSBI staff and students with any administrative-related queries. In addition to overseeing the smooth running of communication between departments and students, Fintan also ensures the information on the student base is up-to-date and correct.

William is originally from Anglesey, North Wales and holds a BA in Economics from The University of Nottingham. After graduating from university, he moved to Prague, Czech Republic, where he lived for 10 years. It was a life-changing move, allowing William to experience other cultures and meet people from all over the world. He has over six years’ experience working as an examinations and assessments manager for online universities.

After gaining a master’s degree in 2015 in International Relations in the XIX-XX centuries from Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania, Mircea worked as a visa submission officer at VFS in Leipzig and Berlin. During his studies, he spent some time in Riga, Latvia. He speaks Romanian, English, Russian and German.

After graduating from Queen Mary University of London with a BA in German and European Studies, Catherine moved to Düsseldorf, Germany to begin her career in education. With extensive experience working in a private English language school, she has also worked in project management and content marketing. Catherine has a true passion for the education industry and she looks forward to supporting students with career guidance as well as any other non-academic related issues.

Ankita studied a bachelor’s in banking, after which she worked for three years in the banking sector. She then went on to complete her master’s degree in Germany while working at BSBI in the administration and marketing department. Today Ankita is part of the Student Services Team and works with the daily operations of the Marketing department. Being a BSBI student herself, she is keen to help new students on their arrival to Germany by resolving any queries they might have.

Karimat Hassan-Amoo joins BSBI as the Accommodation Manager where her role is to oversee Accommodation Services and act as the main point of contact for student enquiries. Prior to becoming a member of the BSBI team, Karimat spent time working in the real estate sector in Nigeria, where she is original from, managing rental properties, brokering real estate and processing customer enquiries. Karimat also has training in property management and real estate economics.

Umeda moved to Germany from Tajikistan in 2012 to pursue her master’s studies in European Political Economics holding a DAAD/Soros Foundation scholarship. Throughout her five years working in financial departments of private universities in Germany, she always tried to improve her professionality and often shows empathy to clients and colleagues. Umeda loves reading novels, practicing yoga and bringing joy to her family members and friends.

Rasel works as a finance assistant where his main responsibilities include receiving and checking invoices, regularly tracking company bank statements as well as helping students with payment plans. Before joining the BSBI team, Rasel worked in the hotel industry for five years and also completed an MBA qualification from the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth. Outside of work, Rasel is interested in football, playing chess and spending time with family and friends.

With over 13 years of experience in business development across Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia, Erik brings a wealth of knowledge to BSBI. Additionally, Erik also has an extensive marketing background and a passion for the education industry. Erik has been involved with international education from a young age having graduated from high school in a student exchange programme in the United States.

Simisola hold an MA in Education, International Development and Health Promotion from UCL as well as a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from King’s College London. Since graduating, Simisola has held a number of positions in international education at institutions such as the University of Sunderland, King’s College London and Lancaster University.

Parrish has spent over 20 years working in the education sector in a variety of roles on both the academic and commercial sides of the industry. He also has regional expertise due to serving a number of global areas in his role as a Business Developer. He has lived in Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Jordan, the UK and currently resides in Mexico City. He is fluent in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and his native language is English.

Having lived and studied in Singapore for four years, overseas education came naturally to Sanjeev. Throughout his 14-year career, Sanjeev has been exposed to all facets of recruitment including sales forecasting, preparing a promotional mix and achieving sales targets. With rich expose to Singapore, US, Canada and Irish education and visa systems, Sanjeev is able to envision future challenges and find a balanced approach in his current role.