Directors

Members of the ATHEA Board of Directors are elected from the membership of the association and serve 3-year terms. The Board of Directors lead the organisation in accordance with the bylaws of the association. The Board of Directors of the Organisation has full power to conduct, manage, and direct its business and affairs of ATHEA in accordance with the bylaws.

The Board of Directors manages the Association. It is the “management body” as defined by the Law of Associations 2002 (Vereinsgesetzes 2002). It is assigned all tasks, which are not assigned to another body of the Association. The ATHEA Board of Directors are elected from the membership of the association and serve 3-year terms. The Board of Directors lead the organisation in accordance with the bylaws of the association. The following tasks are specifically assigned to it:

1. Create an accounting system for the Association to record, as a minimum, its income/expenses and assets.
2. Create a budget, the annual report, and the annual statement of accounts.
3. Prepare and call the General Assembly in cases of § 9 sect. 1 und sect. 2 lit. a – c of this charter.
4. Inform the members about the activities of the Association, the financial status, and the audited annual report.
5. Administrate the assets of the Association.
6. Accept and dismiss full and affiliate members.
7. Hire and dismiss the Executive Director.

ATHEA’s Charter regulates the governance, structure, and operations of the organisation. The ATHEA Charter that was filed in Vienna, Austria to establish the association (English Version 02).

President

Toine van den Heuvel
Business School Netherlands (BSN)

Toine van den Heuvel is Dean in the Global Executive Board of Business School Netherlands and has been a Tutor at the same institute for over 20 years. Next to this he is the owner of APM Consultancy, Supervisory Board Member and Advisory Board Member for a variety of organisations and Chair of a Service Club and some local Associations.  Formerly he was an Executive Board member, President and Senior Leader in multi-national organizations like Boels, NFE and General Electric.​

Vice-President

Bob Walton
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Europe

Bob Walton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Decision Sciences, College of Business, with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide (ERAU). Formerly he was the Executive Director of International Campus Operations for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, and Managing Director of Embry-Riddle Europe GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ERAU. Before that, Bob was the Associate Dean of Academic Support for ERAU in Europe, where he was responsible for the academic oversight of full-time and adjunct faculty.

Treasurer

Alison Knight
International School of Management (ISM)

Alison Knight is the Executive Director of ISM.  Prior to working at ISM, Knight spent nearly a decade in non-profit management and administration. She also served as a consultant with Humanity in Action France (HIA), where she has facilitated groups and spoke at conferences regarding discrimination and minority rights, contrasting the French and American contexts. Previously, she gained 5 years of experience at the Glide Foundation, one of San Francisco’s largest social service organizations. Knight achieved her Masters in Social Welfare degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2011. Her MSW is specialized in Management and Planning with coursework concentrating on the techniques needed to create, maintain, and enhance institutions.

Member

Thierry Kirschstein
United International Business Schools (UIBS)

Mr. Thierry Kirschstein, born in Belgium and based in Switzerland, completed a Bachelor in Small Business Management before joining the United International Business Schools organization (UIBS) in 2006 as a Management Trainee. During his time at UIBS he completed his MBA across various campuses. During the past years he led UIBS through several accreditation processes, focusing mainly on quality management. Currently he holds the position of Managing Director with the Global Education Corporation, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the management company behind ATHEA member institution UIBS.

Member

David Claivaz
Business School Lausanne (BSL)

Dr. David Claivaz is CEO of Lemania Swiss Group of Schools (LSGS) as well as Acting Dean of Business School Lausanne and holds a Ph.D from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
He has taught and managed at every level of multiple educational systems (primary, secondary and tertiary), both in French and English-speaking curricula. He has launched two international schools in the Lausanne area and has created various innovative education programs. He brings special focus on the integration of Information Technology in teaching and learning strategies.
His scope of research includes questions such as artistic creativity, interculturality, translation, and linguistics. He is currently developing an innovative entrepreneurial framework for school organizations, together with Dr. Dominique Bourqui of the University of Lausanne.

Member

Kati Kovacs
Peregrine Global Services

Dr. Kati Kovacs, a higher education, and international accreditation specialist with 20 years of experience, is passionate about advancing higher education institutions around the world. She is currently serving as Director of Global Development at Peregrine Global Services. Having held senior international management roles, she has a track record of excellence in building up quality assurance systems within institutions; achieving and maintaining international accreditation; acquiring and building new businesses and partnerships while maintaining and improving current ones.

Kati is a firm believer in our responsibility to provide quality education to students across the globe and as such makes it her mission to help higher education institutions improve.

Currently, Kati is based in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Prior to joining Peregrine Global Services, she worked as Dean/ Associate Dean of Global Education Programs at Maastricht School of Management, establishing and managing a wide portfolio of programs across the globe (Europe, China, Middle East, South America, Africa) while spearheading the national and international accreditations of the programs. Recently she also led the Global Partnership team at London Southbank University in the UK. Her voluntary activities included serving as chair on boards of international accrediting bodies and chairing numerous site visits.

Kati holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (cum laude) in History and Political Science, a Master of Public Administration Degree from Jacksonville State University, USA, and a Doctor of Business Administration Degree in Higher Education Management from the University of Bath, UK. Kati is fluent in English and Hungarian.