The Senior Leadership team is responsible for providing strategic direction and effective governance to the company. It sets and communicates the company's vision and strategy, ensuring strong management whilst fostering a culture of leadership and accountability.
Meet the Senior Leadership Team
Melanie Robinson is Deputy CEO and Company Secretary at The Institute of Leadership and has joined ABE as Interim Managing Director.
In addition to her role at The Institute and ABE, Melanie has a strong interest in Women in Leadership and Young Leaders and is passionate about helping people change their lives for the better. She serves as a Trustee for another non-profit organisation The Mighty Creatives, an award-winning charity dedicated to providing creative youth services for the most under-represented children and young people in our society.
Melanie possesses a comprehensive knowledge of internal business processes, with a particular interest in finance and corporate governance. Her leadership style and expertise are further highlighted through her co-hosting roles in webinars and podcasts, where she engages with leaders across various industries to challenge traditional leadership models and explore modern approaches to leadership.
She holds an MBA from Aston University, has completed the Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme and is a Chartered Global Management Accountant. Melanie is a CIMA Fellow, a Fellow of both The Institute of Leadership and The Chartered Management Institute and a Graduate Member of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland.
Cynthia is an ACCA-qualified accountant with extensive experience working in finance in various international markets and industries. Originally from South Africa, Cynthia feels strongly about providing accessible, affordable education to emerging markets, which provides the ability to transform the lives of learners around the world. Having obtained an MSc in Professional Accountancy (University College London), Cynthia is keen to utilise these skills to help deliver ABE’s strategy of being the leader in global business education.
Linda has been involved in education marketing since 2005, initially working for Kingston University. She has a passion for education and loves hearing of the success of ABE members and knowing her work supports them by raising awareness of the skills they bring to the workplace.
Before working in education, Linda spent many years in entertainment marketing where she worked with major children's brands and led TV campaigns which created best-selling product launches. Linda is also qualified in journalism and has written articles for national consumer publications and edited business advice books.
Simon Pitt has a doctorate in International Business from London Business School and an MA in History from the University of Cambridge. He joined ABE in 2019 after a career in awarding spanning more than thirty years, mainly focused on quality assurance and accreditation. Simon is passionate about bringing educational opportunities and choice to ABE’s international community of learners.
Rob joined the ABE team in May 2024 and came with 15 years’ experience in the vocational qualification and edtech sectors.
Prior to joining the commercial education sector, Rob served for 25 years in the British Army. During the latter part of his service, he taught business & accountancy to officers, civil servants and international students in Germany, Cyprus and Jamaica, as well as in the UK.
It was during his time as a military instructor that Rob acquired a passion for education and decided to pursue this vocation as a second career, by setting about gaining ‘qualified teacher status’ through the achievement of the Certificate in Education, before going on to being awarded an honours degree in Post Compulsory Education and Training with the University of Southampton. Rob also holds the Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA).
Since leaving the forces, Rob has held various positions in the UK qualification awarding industry, including 6 years as accreditation services manager, responsible for developing a diverse range of qualifications for universities, colleges, schools and some of the UK’s big-name employers (Rolls Royce, Virgin Atlantic, FA Premier League etc); and the emergency services.
Since 2009 Rob has been instrumental in launching, marketing and exporting UK curriculum and teaching & learning resources to various institutions in South-East Asia and the Middle East. He has lived and worked in Malaysia and Thailand, so to be agile and responsive when supporting his customers there and in the wider ASEAN region.
As the Sales Director for the APAC, South Asia, MENA and UK markets, Rob will be showcasing ABE’s portfolio of regulated qualifications and leveraging over a decade of awarding industry expertise to help customers make the right curriculum choices; and be on hand to support them by using his creativity, knowledge and experience when developing customised standards and specifications to meet local or niche learning needs.
Kereesa Carrington-Nunez is a dynamic senior leader with a proven record of driving commercial growth, building high-performing teams, and delivering innovative solutions across international markets. With expertise spanning sales leadership, strategic planning, accreditation, cross-border regulation, and organisational development, she is recognised for developing strategies that translate vision into measurable results.
A recipient of the Tobago Educator Par Excellence Award and a multiple-time ABE Global Top Paper Award tutor, Kereesa has also distinguished herself as an exceptional faculty development strategist. With over two decades of experience, her career reflects a rare blend of academic excellence and business acumen, enabling her to strengthen organizations, expand market reach, and accelerate enterprise growth.
Academically accomplished, an ABE graduate Kereesa also holds a BSc in Computer Science, an MBA in Human Resource Management, a Master of Marketing Management, and a Postgraduate qualification in Educational Leadership. She is currently a PhD candidate in Leadership and Management, deepening her expertise in global leadership and organizational transformation.
Beyond senior leadership roles, Kereesa has provided business consultancy to SMEs, specializing in market penetration strategies and human resource development—helping enterprises position themselves competitively and achieve sustainable growth.
Passionate about mentorship, innovation, and global best practices, Kereesa champions a leadership style rooted in vision, resilience, and empowerment. Her ability to bridge education, enterprise, and regulation positions her as a trusted leader in both commercial and institutional arenas, shaping sustainable impact at a global level.