Our staff have lived, worked and studied in a variety of different countries and speak a number of languages. No matter what industry they have worked in, Gisma’s staff all bring something unique to the organisation.
In November 2023, Julian Davies embarked on his role as the Managing Director of Gisma University of Applied Sciences GmbH, bringing with him an exceptional track record in both UK and international higher education sectors. At Gisma, he is responsible for guiding the operational strategy, academic excellence, and the overall commercial and financial performance.
Juliane Bock has been with GISMA since 2006. As Director of Strategic Projects/Business Planning, she works closely with the Managing Director and the Dean on all issues regarding strategic business planning and accreditation. Juliane holds degrees in geography from Leibniz Universität Hannover and the University of Otago, New Zealand, as well as an MBA from GISMA and Leibniz Universität Hannover.
Professor Maurits van Rooijen is the Chairman of GISMA’s Board of Governors, Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of Global University Systems, and Rector of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Germany. In addition to these roles, he is the Board Chair for IBAT College Dublin, Ireland. He was awarded the Constance Meldrum prize for Vision and Leadership from the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the Insignia d’Ouro of the Universidad Santiago de Compostela.
John joined GISMA Business School in October 2019 as Head of Marketing. Prior to joining GISMA, John has held various marketing, product, and project focused roles in corporate healthcare and banking organisations in the UK. John holds a Master’s in International Marketing from The University of Law Business School. He is now based between Berlin and London, working closely with both the campus teams and corporate teams at Global University Systems.
Dr. Ahmad Abu-Alkheil is the Programme Leader for Global MBA; International Business Management; International Agribusiness courses at GISMA. Prior to this, he was a guest professor at Hochschule Fulda – University of Applied Science and has extensive finance and accountancy experience, both within business and education.
Abeera has over a decade of experience in academic and quality management within the higher education sector. Coming from a background in humanitarian jurisprudence and commercial law, Abeera worked as a lawyer before joining Global University Systems (GUS) in 2009. Over the years she has been responsible for fostering and managing relationships with regulatory and compliance stakeholders such as those pertaining to the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), and British Accreditation Council (BAC), as well as national and international regulatory and funding bodies. As such, Abeera is highly experienced in ensuring market growth, commercial sustainability, and corporate social responsibility take place in tandem.
Abeera has played an instrumental role in establishing GUS subsidiary colleges and entities through the development of robust academic governance processes, brokering new partnerships, and streamlining operations procedures. She joined GISMA Business School in 2019 as Head of Business Transformation with the aim of reshaping the school’s operational and academic processes and managing strategic change in a fast-changing world.
