Our People
Meet our incredible team from across the world
Kenneth Greatbatch
Board Chair, Pestalozzi World UK
As Chief Financial Officer of two public companies and of private equity owned international businesses and Chief Executive of an Australasian group Ken has spent the last twenty-five years of his career restructuring and expanding businesses around the World.
Ken was the “architect and visionary” behind the acquisition, restructuring, expansion and subsequent $2bn flotation on the London Stock Exchange of AZ Electronic Materials SA.
Most recently he was Chief Executive of GEMS, a UAE headquartered private education group, with 100,000 pupils and forty schools in the Gulf, and an adviser to Private Equity owned companies in Germany and the U.K.
He is a Chartered Accountant and Trustee of The Greatbatch Family Trust.
Cheme Palden
Director, Pestalozzi World India
Cheme’s family fled Tibet when the Communist Chinese took over, gaining refugee status in India. Her tertiary studies in London and Northern India included Osteopathy, English and Psychology before she earned her Bachelor’s in Education.
James Haughton
CEO Pestalozzi World
James joined Pestalozzi World in 2020, bringing with him 10 years experience of executive leadership within international development organisations.
James is also an active Trustee on several charitable boards in the UK.
Clarence Mwami
Director, Pestalozzi World Zambia
Clarence joined PestalozziWorld Zambia in 2015. He is a qualified accountant who previously worked at the SOS Children’s Village in Lusaka.
Elizabeth Beim
Chair, Pestalozzi World USA
Elizabeth served as the Development and Public Affairs Officer for Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation and was Senior Director on Cultural Affairs at the Americas Society. She earned her degree at Hollins College before her graduate studies at the London School of Economics.
Ajay Shrestha
Board chair, Pestalozzi World Nepal
Ajay Shrestha was a student at our Indian village before joining Pestalozzi World in Nepal as Board Chair. He is also on the international alumni committee.
Joanna Nair
Director of Alumni Relations & Educational Liaison, Pestalozzi World UK
Jo, has a PGCE as a secondary level English teacher, a Masters in Environmental and Development Education and a PhD from the School of Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of East Anglia where she specialised in international development and wellbeing. Before joining PestalozziWorld in 1996, Jo had lived and worked in Turkey and Nepal, the latter as a VSO. She has extensive experience working with children from many different backgrounds and of many different nationalities, and in the creation of educational resources for adults and children.
Jessica Faircloth
Marketing and Communications Manager Pestalozzi World UK
Jessica has extensive marketing experience within the hospitality sector and member’s clubs. She has several years digital marketing experience specifically with websites and branding. Jessica joined Pestalozzi World in 2021 and has a Master’s degree in Journalism.
Phuntsok Tashi
Project Director, Pestalozzi World Nepal
Phuntsok fled to India from Tibet in 1960. He completed his primary and secondary education in the UK, where he also received a degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham. For a decade, he was Project Director at the Pestalozzi Indian Village.
Yashpal Kapoor
Board Chair, Pestalozzi World India
President and Founder of Io Global Services, Yashpal is an alumnus of a Pestalozzi program in the United Kingdom and graduated from the Imperial College in London.
