MEET OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Nicola Crooks – Head of Early Learning School 

Nicola graduated with a Higher Diploma in Education Junior/Pre-Primary from Johannesburg College of Education in 1999.  Soon after graduation, she spent 10 years teaching in London. Within her first eighteen months, she became Head of Department and her school was invited to pilot and then introduced a new curriculum that became statutory for all Nursery and Gr.0 settings across the UK. She worked closely with her London Borough’s Education Department and School Improvement services. 

During her time in the UK, she also had the opportunity to attend many relevant courses which encouraged and enriched her professional development as well as allowed her to pursue an interest in further studying children with special needs and those on the autistic spectrum. 
She returned to South Africa in January 2009 and delighted in again being involved in educating the diverse range of children in South Africa. 
In 2012 she joined Reddam House group and in 2020 became the Head of the Junior Primary and Early Learning School of Reddam House Helderfontein. Nicola delights in the challenges of her exciting role. 

In her spare time, Nicola enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends. Together they spend time at the sea, cooking delicious meals or exploring new places over a weekend.  She also continues to take an interest in child development and researching educational ideas. When she has a spare moment, her absolute indulgence is losing herself in a book. 

Graham Bennetts – Executive Head Of Reddam House Helderfontein

Executive Head of Reddam House Helderfontein, Graham Bennetts is an avowed all-rounder with a passion for people, education and dynamic teamwork, welcoming diversity and the task of engaging people from wide-ranging backgrounds, solving exciting, innovative, educational challenges.  
Graham Bennetts’ commitment to education has spanned his entire working life in South Africa and the Middle East. With a strong belief in a balanced education, he immersed himself fully in teaching, simultaneously embracing a range of co-curricular activities, serving on the KZN Schools’ Cricket Executive Committee as well as the Honourable Secretary of the South African Schools' Hockey Executive. He is a published author, notably of the 150th Maritzburg College birthday celebratory book, “Brothers for Life.”

After a teaching stint in the UAE, he ventured from the classroom into School Marketing and thereafter earned a promotion to Deputy Headmaster at Maritzburg College. From there he moved to the position of Campus Head at the IIE’s Pietermaritzburg Varsity College. In both institutions, he pioneered innovation, ethos and powerful strategic vision, whilst bearing efficient operational roll-out foremost in mind. At Varsity College, besides his leadership commitments, he actively tutored B Ed students in the Foundation and Intermediate phases of their teaching experience.

 To quote Graham, “I am an all-rounder with a passion for people, education and working within a driven team. I love diversity, problem solving and leading staff and students successfully through challenges. I get very excited about strategic planning and watching how short-term goals are met as the long-term vision takes shape.”

Sheena Crawford-Kempster, Managing Director -South Africa

Sheena Crawford-Kempster embarked on a successful educational career in 1981. She joined Graeme Crawford at Crawford Schools in 1995. Within 4 years, the group was educating over 6000 students. In January 2000, Sheena, George Balios and an excellent management team started Reddam House Constantia and, in 2003, Reddam House Atlantic Seaboard. Working alongside Graeme Crawford in the wake of the success of the Reddam House brand, they opened Reddam House Waterfall Estate in January 2012 - with a capacity of over 2000 students. Committed to the success of the next generation, Sheena believes true excellence in education is only achieved by a powerful, passionate team of exceptional educators preparing young people academically and ethically to maximise their innate potential and make their mark anywhere in the world.

Ravi Nadasen – Chief Executive Officer - South Africa

Before joining Inspired, Ravi worked as Chief Operating Officer at Tsogo Sun Hotels, Africa’s leading hotel group. His tertiary education started at the Durban University of Technology (then ML Sultan Technikon) where he obtained a National Diploma in Hotel Management. Some years later he obtained his BTech Management at the University, and concurrently completed the Advanced Business Programme. More recently in 2018 he obtained his MBA from the University of Stellenbosch. He was also fortunate to attend IMD (Institute for Management Development) in Switzerland for two eight-week blocks, where he did a leadership programme.
 
He has been and is very active in tourism bodies, having been on the board of Cape Town Tourism and a board member of the CT Chamber of Commerce while in Cape Town. He is currently the interim Chairperson of South African Tourism, the Deputy Chairperson and board member of the Tourism Business Council of SA. He was reappointed by the Minister of Tourism for a second term as a member of the B-BBEE Charter Council to advise to advise on the state of transformation in industry.

Graeme Crawford, Reddam House Founder & Inspired Group President

Graeme Crawford is a renowned educator who began his career as a science teacher and believed that much more could be done to improve educational standards.

Driven by his own negative schooling experiences, he began conceiving a school that could provide a rounded education through a dynamic new approach. This was aimed at maximising not just the academic standard, but also the confidence, potential and individuality of each child. Graeme opened his first school in 1993. In the following five years the Crawford Schools grew to 6 in total. In 2000, he founded Reddam House. His impressive track record spans more than two decades and since 1993 Graeme Crawford’s schools have educated more than 32,000 students.

Nadim M Nsouli, Founder & CEO, Inspired Education Group

Nadim M Nsouli founded Inspired in 2013 with the goal of creating a leading global group of premium schools.  Starting with Inspired’s first acquisition of Reddam House, a leading group of schools in South Africa, Nadim rapidly expanded the group globally via a series of acquisitions and building greenfield schools while maintaining the focus on only having the best schools around the world as part of the group.

Prior to founding Inspired, Nadim was a partner at Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm with $40 billion under management.  Nadim was also a member of Providence's Global Investment Committee and led Providence's Education investment efforts in Europe and the Middle East.  Prior to joining Providence in 2006, Nadim was the European head of The Gores Group, a special situations private equity fund based in Los Angeles.  Previously, Nadim was a member of the media and telecommunications investment banking teams of Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan in London.  Nadim started his career in New York as a corporate lawyer at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.

Nadim received a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD with distinction, a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) from Georgetown University.