Management Team

David Kedwards
CEO

David Kedwards became CEO of Wall Street Institute when the company was purchased by Pearson Longman LLC in August 2010. David started his career at Wall Street as the Operations Director for the company’s China operations in May 2001, and became the General Manager in China in August 2001. WSE China experienced tremendous growth under David’s guidance. He expanded the company’s presence in several key markets including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and oversaw the opening of over 45 learning centers in nine years.

Prior to joining Wall Street Institute, he worked as the UK Operations Director for KinderCare Learning Centers, the largest private childcare operator in the world. In that role he was responsible for planning and implementing the start-up of KinderCare’s UK business. He was also a founder and General Manager of Bright Horizons Day Nurseries in the UK. He has worked in business development roles for Marriott Hotels, TRW (in the aerospace industry), and Marsh Mclennan (in the insurance industry). David received his MBA from the University of Bradford and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Lancaster, both in the UK. He also holds a Diploma in Marketing Management from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, also in the UK. 

Dr. James McGowan
Chief Operating Officer
 
James McGowan joined WSI in 1992 as a teacher in Madrid, Spain. Since that time, Dr. McGowan has held a variety of roles within the company including Operations Manager for a Spanish franchise organization and National Service Manager in both Italy and Germany. In 2005 he assumed the role of General Manager, WSI Germany. During that time, he also served as the Vice President of European Operations. In late 2010, Dr. McGowan became the Vice President - Operations for WSI. In April 2011, he became the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Wall Street Institute, Dr. McGowan provided consultancy services for Shell UK and for a European Union funded project into mineral exploration in the Iberian peninsula in collaboration with the Spanish Geological Survey.  Dr. McGowan has a Bachelor of Science with Honors Degree from Queen´s University, Belfast, Ireland; a Master in Marketing and Commercial Management from ESIC, Valencia, Spain; and a PhD from the University of Southampton, England. He is also a CELTA certified instructor of English as a foreign language. Dr. McGowan has published and presented his own research in international journals and forums.

Christopher Eden
Senior Vice President  - International Development

Christopher Eden joined Wall Street Institute in 1999 as General Manager of Wall Street Institute in Italy. In that role he opened, acquired, or franchised over 40 centers and took WSI Italy revenues from $5.5 million to $33 million. Mr. Eden became Wall Street Institute's Vice President of International Development in 2006 and in 2008 was appointed Vice President of Franchise Operations. In 2011 he became the Senior Vice President of International Development. Prior to joining Wall Street Institute, Mr. Eden was an Operations Director and Franchise Director – UK / Italy for Blockbuster Video. At Blockbuster UK, Mr. Eden opened ten centers and grew the London business from $12 million to $18 million in two years. In Blockbuster Italy, he was integral in the opening of 170 stores. Earlier in his career, Mr. Eden was an Area Manager for Virgin Music PLC. Mr. Eden was qualified in 1983 as a Professional Photographer from CCAT, Cambridge, UK.

David Compte
Vice President and General Counsel

David Compte joined Wall Street Institute in February 1999 as Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to joining WSI, Mr. Compte worked for Ernst & Young Abogados and Casamitjana Advocats, both law firms. Before entering the legal field, he also worked in the banking industry at Banco del Comercio. Mr. Compte has also lectured on Mergers & Acquisitions at various institutions, including Ernst & Young International in Annecy, France, and the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Econom?a in Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a lecturer at IDEC (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Compte received his Master of Science Degree in European Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1990 and his law degree from the Universitat Central de Barcelona in 1988. He is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, and English.

Duane Viazanko
Chief Technology Officer

Duane Viazanko joined Wall Street Institute in December 2006 as Chief Technology Officer. Prior to WSI, he was the Vice President of Business Development and Technology at Educate, Inc. In this role, Mr. Viazanko provided strategic technical leadership, developed new business opportunities within the corporation, and led new product innovation, research, and development. Prior to this role, he was the Vice President of Technology of eSylvan, LLC, a subsidiary of Educate, Inc. Before joining the Educate family, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Education Satellite Services, Inc., a subsidiary of National Technological University. Prior to that, Mr. Viazanko worked in a number of managerial positions, including Chief Technology Officer for Sylvan Ventures, Executive Director of Network Technology for Caliber Learning Network, Inc., Director of Network Engineering for the Prometric Division of Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., and Manager of Computer Services at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH). Mr. Viazanko received his Masters of Science Degree in Information Technology and Telecommunications from Johns Hopkins University, and holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Computer Engineering.

Rebecca Knight
CFO

Rebecca was appointed CFO of Wall Street English in October 2011 following the acquisition of Wall Street Institute by Pearson in 2010.   Rebecca has worked for Pearson since March 2004 when she joined the Group Internal Audit team, and became the Senior Manager for the Europe and Asia regions.  As part of this role, she established Pearson's first Internal Audit team in Asia.   In January 2009, she became the CFO for the Global English Language Teaching Division of Pearson International, and led on the acquisition of WSI.   

Earlier in her career, Rebecca qualified as a Teacher of English and taught English and Maths for two years in a UK secondary school.  Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Southampton, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from Roehampton University and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. 

Simon Buckland
Director of Curriculum Development

Simon Buckland joined Wall Street Institute in 1980 as Academic Advisor and Director of Curriculum Development. Prior to joining WSI, he was a writer of teaching materials, working on English textbooks for Longmans. Since then, Mr. Buckland has been the chief author and instructional designer of the Wall Street English learning programs, during which time he has helped to guide the company through many phases of innovation, such as the first application of “Blended Learning” to English language learning; first use of a specially-programmed computer in English language learning; and the first full-scale English language course on CD-ROM. Before working on teaching materials, he worked as an English teacher and Director of Studies in the UK, the Middle East, and in Italy for the British Council. Throughout his career, he has also worked as an e-learning author and consultant in the UK for many well-known companies such as British Telecom, Bank of England, and Rolls-Royce, designing learning plans and programs for interactive management training programs. He has designed a number of e-learning projects and websites, and planned and supervised the publication and recording of teaching materials in many languages. Mr. Buckland received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, a Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the British Council, and a Master of Science Degree from Sussex University (UK) in Intelligent Teaching Systems and Natural Language Processing.

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