Board of Directors
Dr. Simon Leung
Chairman of the Board
Simon Leung Lim Kin joins as the Chairman of the Board of Mynd. Dr. Leung joined NetDragon in March 2015. Since then, Dr. Leung has been responsible for the planning, consolidation and operation of the education business of NetDragon in the PRC and the development of the online education business overseas. Dr. Leung had over 30 years of experience in both information technology and telecommunications industries. In 2005, Dr. Leung was appointed as the president of Motorola Asia-Pacific, a company principally engaged in the production of data communication and telecommunication equipment, where he was primarily responsible for the overall strategic planning and implementation in the Asia-Pacific region. Since 2008, Dr. Leung was the chief executive officer of Microsoft Greater China region, a company principally engaged in developing, manufacturing, licensing and sales of software products, where he was primarily responsible for overseeing overall business operations and for developing and implementing a regional strategy. Prior to joining NetDragon, Dr. Leung also held management roles at various educational institutions or corporations engaging in education business. From 2009 to 2010, he was the governor of the Upper Canada College, an educational institution, where he was primarily responsible for establishing and directing policy for the college and overseeing its financial affairs. In 2012, Dr. Leung was the chief executive officer of Harrow International Management Services Limited, a company principally engaged in the management of Harrow International Schools, where he was responsible for the development of new Harrow International Schools and education services in Asia. Dr. Leung received his Bachelor Of Arts Degree and an Doctorate In Laws from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1978 and 2005 respectively and a Doctorate In Business Administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2007.
Joel Getz
Director
Joel A. Getz joins as a Director of Mynd and has served as a director of GEHI since September 2017. Mr. Getz is now the deputy dean for Alumni, Development, and Special Initiative at the Yale School of Management. He also serves as an independent director of Luckin Coffee Inc. (OTC: LKNCY) since December 2022, a director and the board secretary of The Stephan Co. (OTC: SPCO) since February 2017 and March 2017, respectively, and the board trustee of New England Innovative Academy since February 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Getz served in various development capacities for non-profit organizations in New York and California and was president of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. From 1990 to 1997, Mr. Getz was the president and co-founder of Rim Pacific, a manufacturing and distribution firm focusing on art reproductions. Mr. Getz received his B.A. in 1986 from Harvard University.
Robin Mendelson
Director
Robin Mendelson joins as a Director of Mynd. Ms. Mendelson is a seasoned executive and board director with over 25 years of experience in building and leading high-growth technology-enabled businesses in the United States and internationally. From 1999 to 2019, Ms. Mendelson held leadership positions at Amazon, overseeing multibillion-dollar business portfolios. During her tenure at Amazon, she also led a global technology platform and expanded international business units for Amazon in France. Ms. Mendelson’s e-commerce experience encompasses finance leadership, where among other roles, she led finance for Amazon’s Worldwide Digital Products Group during the successful launch of the Kindle e-reader, Prime Video, and other transformative digital media products. Ms. Mendelson is a board director of Mainstay and Acadeum. She serves on the Advisory Board of Yale University’s Broad Center for Public Education Leadership, the Yale University Alumni Board of Governors, and is a Trustee of Rainier Prep. Ms. Mendelson holds a Bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Master of Business Administration from Yale University School of Management.
Denise Merle
Director
Denise Merle joins as a Director of Mynd. Ms. Merle has been Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer at Weyerhaeuser Company, a global leader in sustainable forestry, natural climate solutions and wood products manufacturing since February 2018. Prior to this role, Ms. Merle held a variety of progressive leadership roles, including serving as Senior Vice President of human resources and investor relations, head of finance and human resources for Weyerhaeuser’s $2 billion lumber business, and head of Internal Audit, risk management and enterprise planning. Ms. Merle has successfully led multiple transformational projects and initiatives, including the $8 billion integration of Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek; the redesign of all executive compensation programs to drive financial performance, align with shareholder interests and ensure market competitiveness; and work to accelerate the company’s DEI efforts through establishing an executive diversity council, revamping company employee resources groups, and communicating regularly on inclusion topics through an internal blog. Ms. Merle has a BS Degree in Accounting from Pacific Lutheran University and an MBA with international studies from Seattle University, and she is a Certified Public Accountant.
Dr. John Quelch
Director
Dr. John Anthony Quelch joins as a Director of Mynd. Dr. Quelch currently serves as the Leonard M. Miller University Professor at the University of Miami Herbert Business School since January, 2023. Between 2017 and 2022, he also served as Dean of Miami Herbert Business School and as the University’s vice provost for executive education. Prior to joining the Miami Herbert Business School, Dr. Quelch was the Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School from 2013 until 2017. He also held a joint appointment as professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Prior to his most recent time at Harvard, Dr. Quelch was dean, vice president and distinguished professor of international management of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) from 2011 to 2013, leading the school to realize a significant increase in annual revenues and improving the global ranking of its MBA programs. From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Quelch served as dean of the London Business School, where he helped transform the school into a globally competitive institution and launched seed capital funds to invest in student and alumni start-ups. Dr. Quelch initially joined Harvard Business School in 1979, holding a number of positions over the years, including Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, co-chair of the marketing department and Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration. He served as senior associate dean of Harvard Business School from 2001 to 2010. Dr. Quelch has served as an independent director of several publicly traded companies in the United States and the United Kingdom as well as in nonprofit and public agency boards, including as chairman of the Massachusetts Port Authority. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Quelch earned a B.A. and an M.A. from Exeter College, Oxford University; an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; an MS from the Harvard School of Public Health; and a DBA in business from Harvard Business School.
Vin Riera
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Vin Riera joins as the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Mynd. Mr. Riera joined Promethean World Limited (“Promethean”) as the Chief Executive Officer in January of 2017. Mr. Riera is an experienced global executive. Prior to joining Promethean, he served as Director and CEO of Collegis Education and, prior to Collegis, Mr. Riera served as Director and CEO of Edmentum, a leader in software curriculum and assessment solutions. In addition, Mr. Riera has also served in progressive leadership and general management roles at Gateway, Inc., Equant, Inc., now Orange Business Services, Verizon/MCI WorldCom, and GE Capital Commercial Direct. In addition to Mr. Riera’s broad software, computing, services, and education industry background, he also has a proven track record of developing compelling and strategic plans that drive transformational growth and shareholder value. Mr. Riera is a graduate of Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts with a BS Degree in Business Administration.
Dr. Tarek Shawki
Director
Dr. Tarek Shawki joins as a Director of Mynd. Dr. Shawki currently serves as the University Counselor at The American University in Cairo. Prior to his current role, Dr. Shawki served as the Minister of Education and Technical Education in Egypt from February 2017 through August 2022. Throughout his tenure as the Minister of Education, Dr. Shawki led a massive transformation of Egyptian pre-university education starting in the fall of 2017 when he introduced the new Egyptian Education System known as “EGY Edu 2.0” which covers the grades from KG1 until G6 moving forward to cover all remaining grades by 2029. In addition, Dr. Shawki introduced a major integration of ICT technologies in high school education at a national scale and changed assessment models, digital learning resources and used electronic examinations across the country besides reinventing the structure of the “exit examination” in G12 in Egypt. Prior to serving as the Minister, Dr. Shawki served as the “Secretary General of the Presidential Specialized Councils” from February 2015 to January 2017 where he managed 4 advisory councils to the President of Egypt. He also served as the Chair of the Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research. Through this presidential assignment, Dr. Shawki designed and founded the so-called “Egyptian Knowledge Bank” (EKB) which is the largest knowledge digital library in the world containing digital resources from world renowned publishers, and it is made freely available for all Egyptians since its launch in January 2016. Dr. Shawki was educated at Cairo University in Egypt where he earned a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (1979) and later earned a Ph.D. in Engineering from Brown University (1985) in Rhode Island, U.S.A. where he also earned two Master of Science degrees in Applied Mathematics and Applied Mechanics. Dr. Shawki completed a post-doctoral assignment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) followed by 13 years as a professor of theoretical and applied mechanics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.