Leadership

Laureate Education, Inc. is led by an international team of educators and executives with broad experience in academics and business. Our leaders are educated at top academic institutions and have experience working at prominent global businesses. Rectors, presidents, and deans from some of higher education’s most respected institutions worldwide are also part of our valued team.

Each Laureate university has its own academic advisory board, pooling the academic and professional expertise of its members to ensure career-relevant education for all students in the Laureate International Universities network.

Executive Leadership Team

Portrait

Eilif Serck-Hanssen, President and Chief Executive Officer

Eilif Serck-Hanssen has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Laureate Education, Inc. since January 1, 2018, and as a member of the corporate executive team since joining the company in 2008, holding positions including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Executive Vice President.

Eilif’s time as Chief Executive Officer has been defined by transformation. Eilif was steward of a strategic review process which resulted in the successful sale and transfer of control of over $5 billion in assets, in addition to leading the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused unprecedented disruption to higher education.

Today, Laureate’s 35,000 employees are focused on serving 423,000 students across Mexico and Peru, while continuing to expand access to quality higher education. Under Eilif’s leadership, Laureate has successfully incubated multiple EdTech ventures, has embarked on a process of digital transformation, and has delivered value for shareholders

Before joining Laureate, Eilif had a successful career in the airline industry. He served as Chief Financial Officer and President of International Operations at XOJET, Inc., and was part of the team that founded premium airline, Eos Airlines, Inc., where he served Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to his time with Eos Airlines, Eilif served in several executive positions at US Airways, Inc. (now American Airlines, Inc.) and Northwest Airlines, Inc. (now Delta Airlines, Inc.), including Senior Vice President and Treasurer of US Airways, Inc. Prior to joining the airline industry, Eilif spent over five years with PepsiCo, Inc. in various international locations, and three years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (formerly Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte) in London.

Eilif holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a B.A. in Management Science from the University of Kent at Canterbury (United Kingdom), and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

Portrait

Rick Buskirk, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Rick Buskirk serves as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Laureate Education, Inc., a role he has held since April 2021. Rick is responsible for the company’s financial strategy, including leading its corporate function, and ensuring Laureate and its institutions achieve financial success.

Rick previously led Laureate’s Financial Planning and Analysis organization as well as multiple financial transformation initiatives for the company. He also served as Laureate’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, playing an integral role in managing the company’s strategic review process and overall portfolio optimization strategies.

Prior to joining Laureate in 2015, Rick was a CPA with EY, an investment banker with Deutsche Bank, and worked for multiple global brands, including Vodafone, NII Holdings, Inc. (formerly Nextel International), and Sprint/Nextel in a range of financial, strategy and operations positions.

Rick holds a dual M.B.A. from Columbia University and London Business School and a B.S. in accounting from the University of Maryland.

Portrait

Marcelo Cardoso, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Marcelo Cardoso serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Laureate Education, Inc., a role he has held since June 2021. Marcelo oversees operations in Mexico and Peru, as well as the leadership of Laureate’s Academic Quality organization.

Prior to his current role, Marcelo held several senior positions within Laureate, including Chief Transformation Officer, Regional Vice President of Operations for Brazil, and Chief Executive Officer of Laureate Brazil.

Before joining Laureate in 2011, Marcelo served as Latin America Vice President, Business Operations & CFO for Dell EMC Computer Systems and held senior leadership positions at Johnson Controls.

Marcelo holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brazil) and an M.B.A. in management from the University of Michigan.

Portrait

Christian Haeberle, CEO of Laureate Peru

Christian Haeberle currently serves as the CEO of Laureate Peru since 2022. In this role, he is responsible for shaping the core strategy to achieve the overarching objectives of operations at the country level. Under his leadership, he oversees the growth and development strategies of Laureate institutions in Peru, such as Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Universidad Privada del Norte (UPN), and Cibertec.

Christian began his career at Laureate as CFO of the Andean Region, leading the financial planning for Peru and Chile with the aim of maximizing the strategic opportunities of both countries from 2015 to 2021.

Before joining Laureate in 2015, his professional experience spanned multinational corporations, including PepsiCo and Unilever, where he extensively developed his knowledge in the field of finance in various Latin American countries such as Chile, Paraguay, and Brazil, among others. Christian holds a degree in Commercial Engineering from Universidad Gabriela Mistral and a Master's in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Portrait

Leslie Brush, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary

Leslie Brush serves as Deputy General Counsel and Secretary for Laureate Education Inc., a role she has held since 2023. Leslie oversees corporate governance, securities law compliance/reporting requirements, corporate transactions, and equity and executive compensation matters. Prior to this role, Leslie served as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, & Secretary.

Before joining Laureate in 2019, Leslie served as Chief Governance Officer, Vice President-Legal, and Secretary for software and solutions services company SunGard Data Systems (now part of FIS) for over 20 years, where she advised the board of directors and executive leadership teams on securities, corporate governance, transactional, and executive compensation matters. Prior to this, Leslie worked at global law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.    

Leslie holds a J.D. from Temple University School of Law and a B.S. and M.S. in Communication Disorders from The Pennsylvania State University.

Portrait

Adam Smith, Senior Vice President — People and Culture

Adam Smith serves as Senior Vice President – People and Culture for Laureate Education, Inc.. In these positions, Adam leads three corporate functions – People and Culture (including HR Operations), Communications and Public Affairs, and Impact (including ESG Strategy and Reporting), and supports the Office of the President and Chief Executive Officer.

Since joining Laureate in 2014, Adam has held several leadership positions, including Chief Impact Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, Vice President – Communications and Public Affairs, and Executive Director – Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as General Manager – Education and Corporate Affairs for Laureate Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to Laureate, Adam worked as a consultant specializing in partnership development and coalition building in school education in Australia. Clients included the Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, Principals Australia Institute, and the Koshland Innovation Fund. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Education Foundation Australia, and the Foundation for Young Australians.

Portrait

Rick Sinkfield , Chief Legal Officer and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer

Rick Sinkfield serves as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer for Laureate Education, Inc., a role he has held since June 2020. Rick is responsible for all legal affairs, corporate governance, corporate compliance, and all regulatory matters. Rick also co-chairs Laureate’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and champions company-wide efforts to deepen a commitment to this work. 

Rick joined Laureate in 2004 and has held several senior leadership positions, including serving as Laureate’s Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Latin America and Regional General Counsel for Brazil.

Prior to joining Laureate, Rick practiced law at several top U.S. law firms, including the Washington DC offices of Sidley Austin LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. He has taught as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School and has served on multiple non-profit boards in the United States and across Latin America.

Rick completed his undergraduate study at Georgetown University in the School of Foreign Service and completed a JD at Harvard Law School where he also held the position of Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Board of Directors

Andrew B. Cohen, Vice Chairman of the Board

Andrew B. Cohen is the chief investment officer and co-founder of Cohen Private Ventures, LLC, which invests long-term capital, primarily in direct private investments and other opportunistic transactions, and manages family office activities, on behalf of Steven A. Cohen. From 2002 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2014, Mr. Cohen was an analyst and portfolio manager at S.A.C. Capital Advisors, L.P., an investment management firm and the predecessor to Cohen Private Ventures, LLC. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Cohen was a managing director and partner of Dune Capital Management LP, an investment management firm. Mr. Cohen began his career at Morgan Stanley, where he was an analyst in the real estate department and principal investing group (MSREF) and then an associate in the mergers and acquisitions group after business school. Mr. Cohen currently is a director of Republic First Bancorp, Inc. and serves as a member of the boards of directors of several private companies. He also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Painting and Sculpture Committee of The Whitney Museum of American Art. In the past five years, Mr. Cohen has served as a member of the board of directors of Kadmon Holdings, Inc. Mr. Cohen earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Cohen has been a director since June 2013.

Pedro del Corro, Director

Pedro del Corro is a member of Torreal, S.A. (“Torreal”), one of the largest private investment firms in Spain. He joined Torreal in 1990 and is currently a managing director and a member of its board. Prior to joining Torreal, Mr. del Corro held various positions with Procter & Gamble in Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Portugal. Mr. del Corro currently is a director of each of Arbarin Sicav, S.A. and Inversiones Naira Sicav, S.A. In the past five years, he has served as a member of the boards of directors of Universidad Europea de Madrid, S.L.U., Imagina and Saba Infraestructuras. Mr. del Corro earned a law degree from the Universidad de Deusto and a business administration degree from ICADE Business School—Universidad Pontificia Comillas. Mr. del Corro has been a Director since February 2017.

Aristides de Macedo has more than 30 years of international business experience in Latin America. Mr. de Macedo previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Salud Del Perú SAC, a health services start-up, from 2010 to 2011, and held various executive positions with Kraft Foods Inc., including as President of Kraft Andean from 2007 to 2009, President of Kraft Brasil from 2003 to 2006, General Manager of Kraft Venezuela from 2001 to 2003, and General Manager of Kraft Peru from 1999 to 2001. Mr. de Macedo has served on various public and private boards of directors in Latin America and currently serves as a director of Alicorp S.A.A., a Peruvian consumer goods company, since 2010, and Grupo Vazquez, an Ecuadorian company operating in diversified sectors including automotive, retail and insurance, since 2020. Additionally, Mr. de Macedo served as the independent Chairman of the board of directors of Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, a Laureate university, from 2015 to April 2023, after becoming a director in 2012. Mr. de Macedo earned a B.A. in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).

Kenneth W. Freeman, Chairman of the Board

Kenneth W. Freeman has served as the Chairman of our Board of Directors since January 2019. Mr. Freeman was named Dean Emeritus of Boston University Questrom School of Business in September 2018 after serving as the Allen Questrom Professor and Dean from August 2010 to September 2018. Mr. Freeman served as a senior advisor of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (together with its affiliates, "KKR") from August 2010 through December 2014. From October 2009 to August 2010, Mr. Freeman was a member of KKR Management LLC, the general partner of KKR & Co. L.P. Mr. Freeman was a member of the limited liability company that served as the general partner of KKR from 2007. He joined the firm as the managing director in May 2005. From May 2004 to December 2004, Mr. Freeman was the chairman of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, and from January 1996 to May 2004, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. From May 1995 to December 1996, Mr. Freeman was the president and chief executive officer of Corning Clinical Laboratories, the predecessor company to Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. Prior to that, he served in various general management and financial roles with Corning Incorporated. Mr. Freeman currently is a director of the Center for Higher Ambition Leadership. In the past five years, Mr. Freeman has served as chairman of the board of trustees of Bucknell University, chairman of the Graduate Management Admissions Council, chairman of Lake Region Medical, Inc. and as a member of the board of directors of HCA Holdings, Inc. (now known as HCA Healthcare, Inc.). Mr. Freeman earned a BSBA from Bucknell University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Mr. Freeman has been a Director since April 2017.

Barbara Mair, Director

Ms. Mair is a partner of Smart Force, a provider of digital business solutions, since 2019. Previously, Ms. Mair was involved in several technology start-ups, including Workforce Digital, a robotic process automation company, from 2018 to 2019, and Muktek, a provider of coding bootcamp programs, from 2017 to 2019. From 2012 to 2015, Ms. Mair was the chief executive officer of Universidades Aliat, a network of universities in Mexico, having initially served as chief operating officer in 2011. Before then, Ms. Mair was a partner of Medida y Compas S.C., a strategic consulting firm, and held various roles at HP, Compaq and Unisys. Ms. Mair has served on various public, private and nonprofit boards of directors in Mexico since 2001. Ms. Mair earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a Masters of Technology in Education from University of British Columbia.

George Muñoz, Director

George Muñoz has been a principal in the Washington, D.C.-based investment banking firm Muñoz Investment Banking Group, LLC since 2001. Mr. Muñoz has also been a partner in the Chicago-based law firm Tobin & Muñoz, LLC since 2002. Mr. Muñoz served as the president and chief executive officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 1997 to January 2001. Mr. Muñoz was the chief financial officer and assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department from 1993 until 1997. Mr. Muñoz is a certified public accountant and an attorney. Mr. Muñoz served three terms as president of the Chicago Board of Education in the mid-1980s. Mr. Muñoz has taught courses in globalization at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and is co-author of the book "Renewing the American Dream: A Citizen's Guide for Restoring of Competitive Advantage." Mr. Muñoz currently is a director of each of Marriott International, Inc. (and a member of its audit committee), Altria Group, Inc. and Anixter International, Inc. (and a member of its compensation committee), and a trustee of the National Geographic Society. Mr. Muñoz earned a B.B.A. from the University of Texas, a J.D. and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University, and a LL.M. in Taxation from DePaul University. Mr. Muñoz has been a Director since March 2013 and the Chairman of the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors since August 2013.

Dr. Judith Rodin, Director

Dr. Judith Rodin served as the president of The Rockefeller Foundation from March 2005 to January 2017. The foundation supports efforts to combat global social, economic, health and environmental challenges. From 1994 to 2004, Dr. Rodin served as the president of the University of Pennsylvania. Before that, Dr. Rodin chaired the Department of Psychology at Yale University, and also served as the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and provost, and served as a faculty member at the university for 22 years. Dr. Rodin currently is a director of each of Citigroup Inc. (and a member of its compensation committee) and Comcast Corporation (and a member of its audit and compensation committees) and serves as a member of the boards of directors of several private companies. From 1997 to 2013, Dr. Rodin served as a member of the board of directors of AMR Corporation. Dr. Rodin earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Dr. Rodin has been a Director since December 2013.

Ian K. Snow, Director

Ian K. Snow is the chief executive officer and a co-founding partner of Snow Phipps Group, LLC (“Snow Phipps”), a private equity firm. Prior to the formation of Snow Phipps in April 2005, Mr. Snow was a managing director at Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C., a private equity firm, where he worked from its inception in 1995 until March 2005. He currently serves as a director of each of the following private companies in which Snow Phipps holds an equity interest: Blackhawk Industrial Distribution, Inc., Brook & Whittle Limited, Cascade Environmental LLC, DecoPac, Inc., ECRM, LLC, Electric Guard Dog, LLC, FeraDyne Outdoors, LLC, HCTec, Inc., Ideal Tridon Holdings, Inc., Kele, Inc. and Teasdale Foods, Inc. From 1996 until 2007, Mr. Snow served as a member of the board of directors of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (and, from 2006 until 2007, a member of its audit committee). Mr. Snow earned a B.A., with honors, from Georgetown University. Mr. Snow has been a Director since July 2007.

Eilif Serck-Hanssen, President and Chief Executive Officer

Eilif Serck-Hanssen serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer, a position he has held since January 2018. From March 2017 through December 2017, Mr. Serck-Hanssen served as our President and Chief Administrative Officer, as well as our Chief Financial Officer. From July 2008 through March 2017, Mr. Serck-Hanssen served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. From February 2008 until July 2008, Mr. Serck-Hanssen served as chief financial officer and president of international operations at XOJET, Inc. In January 2005, Mr. Serck-Hanssen was part of the team that founded Eos Airlines, Inc., a premium airline, and until February 2008, Mr. Serck-Hanssen served as its executive vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to starting Eos Airlines, Mr. Serck-Hanssen served in several financial executive positions at US Airways, Inc. (now American Airlines, Inc.) and Northwest Airlines, Inc. (now Delta Airlines, Inc.), including serving as a senior vice president and treasurer of US Airways, Inc. Prior to joining the airline industry, Mr. Serck-Hanssen spent over five years with PepsiCo, Inc., in various international locations and three years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (formerly Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte) in London. He is an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Mr. Serck-Hanssen earned a B.A. from the University of Kent at Canterbury (United Kingdom), a B.S. from the Bergen University College (Norway), and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mr. Serck-Hanssen has been a Director since January 2018.

Committee Composition

Corporate Governance Documents