With his vision for providing the best education and making education affordable for all, Ashok started his entrepreneurial journey. Today, he has been successful in bringing international education to our doorstep.
Mr. Ashok Kumar attended a government-sponsored school in Coimbatore after being born into a middle-class family. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the Govt. College of Technology in Coimbatore after developing a lifelong enthusiasm for technology. To further fulfil his desire to broaden the scope of his knowledge, exposure, and experience, he came to the US in 1991 to obtain a master’s degree in electrical engineering. His first position in the corporate world, as a Technical Sales Analyst at Xerox Corporation, piqued his curiosity to start his own business. He continued to learn nonetheless, and while employed at Xerox, he enrolled in an executive MBA programme.
His diverse expertise and skills were built on a solid foundation of seven years of service in various corporate leadership roles at Intel Corporation. But after more than five years, the path to several entrepreneurial arenas was opened for him when he joined Microsoft and assumed a Senior Sales Development post covering regions in America, Europe, and Asia. While advancing professionally during this time, he was blessed to become a parent to twin boys at home.His children were in India when Ashok oversaw Microsoft’s operations in South Asia.
Mr. Ashok, who was eager to provide his twin boys with an educational continuum, became aware of the lack of a curriculum that met international standards. He perceived himself standing on the brink of a difficult situation, but this time for his children. He became aware of the need for a bridge when there were few curricular options available that could meet international standards at reasonable costs. Mr. Ashok, who prides himself on being a problem solver, seized the chance to be the change and introduce the much-needed innovation of high-quality, inexpensive education. With his extensive international expertise and business acumen, he devised a strategy to establish a network of schools in Tamil Nadu, beginning in Coimbatore.
He chose the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum for his school after extensive research and trips to some of the most outstanding international schools in Asia. He also learned about IB from their leadership and school.
Before opening The Indian Public School, the first IB Primary School in Tamil Nadu, in 2006, the flagship programme (TIPS), he was able to expand his reach to cities like Chennai, Kochi, Tirupur, etc. because of the overwhelmingly positive response he received.
Mr. Ashok emerged as a differentiator in bringing foreign education to the doorstep of everyone who had yearned for this change for years after making such a fundamental shift in curricular choices. The incredible transformation that Mr. Ashok’s cluster schools predicted what would happen.
TIPS grew to a global scale in 2013 after partnering with NACE, a comparable transnational school organisation with cluster schools mostly in France and Spain, and establishing itself in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. Following a significant equity investment from Providence Equity in 2017, the organisation was able to grow to ten countries and add more than 60 schools. In 2019, the organisation’s name was changed to “Globeducate,” but its country-specific branding remained.
Ashok takes satisfaction in the fact that he has influenced many people’s lives and helped many people grow. For several years, several publications have recognised and honoured his achievements and vision.
